Chinese Silk
by raiseitdonger
Summary: Yao and his brothers decide to go to a European school as a change. But after losing a bet to Yong Soo, Yao must go the whole year dressed as a girl. However, a certain Russia delinquent seems to like him. RoChu, rating may change.
1. The first day

**A/N: Ni-Hao, everyone! This is my first fanfiction, so I hope it's alright. I got all the names online, so if any of them are wrong, please let me know! Otherwise, enjoy! **

* * *

Yao smiled confidently, spreading his cards on the small glass table so that the pale-green bamboo pattern was showing. Yong Soo looked up from his own pair of cards, his emotion unfazed by Yao's smug grin.

"Your poker face is terrible." Yong Soo said. "You ready?" Yao nodded, and flipped his hand of cards over triumphantly.

"Two, three, four and five of hearts!" Yao boasted. "A straight flush-aru!" He stared expectantly at Yong Soo, waiting for him to admit failure.

"That's a pretty good hand, especially if this was your first time playing poker." Yong Soo said, bemused. "But you're going to have to do better than that to beat me." He laid his cards down face-up in a perfect arch. "Jack, Queen, King and Ace of spades; a royal flush." Yao stared at him, his eyes open wide with disbelief. He hated western card games, and this was one he just couldn't afford to lose; the stakes were much too high.

"Dammit! You cheated, didn't you-aru?" Yao shouted.

"I didn't cheat." Yong Soo said, a smirk appearing on his face. Yao threw his cards at him.

"You're lying!" Yao snapped.

"Actually, he's telling the truth… believe it or not." Kiku, Yao's other younger brother stated. He had been sitting in the corner, observing the card game with the same blank expression he always wore. "Sorry, but you lost, Yao."

"No! This was one bet I couldn't lose-aru!"

"What did you bet?" Kiku asked. "I didn't get here until after the game began."

"I felt like playing cards with him." Yong Soo explained. "But he doesn't really like western games, so I made him a bet. If I lost, I would give him 300 Euros. But if I won, he would have to go through the entire school year dressed as a girl!" Yong Soo began laughing hysterically.

"Where did you get 300 Euros?" Kiku asked, ignoring the strangest part of the proposition.

"I have my ways." Yong Soo replied. Kiku didn't bother to pry anymore; he honestly didn't want to know what his brother was doing on his free time.

"So… a girl…" Kiku stared at Yao, almost smiling. "Why did you agree to that, Yao?" Yao had laid his head on the table, and was banging his fists up and down softly.

"He wouldn't leave me alone-aru." Yao complained. "And I'm completely broke! 300 Euros would've been so useful at the new school!"

"Well let's go order our uniforms." Yong Soo said curtly. "We don't want to miss the cut-off date for registration." He got up to leave, and Yao followed behind, grumbling to himself. Kiku joined them, silently staring ahead.

This year, the three brothers decided to do something different for a change. For their entire lives, they had been basically secluded from the rest of the world. They were all home-schooled, and were honestly getting sick of one another. After their mother had found a full-time job, Kiku found some info about a fancy European school online, and decided to apply; his two brothers joining soon after. None of them had ever met any Europeans before, and all of them, even Yong Soo, were nervous. However, this new proposition was doing nothing for Yao's nerves.

_Just think, my first day interacting with others, and I'm going to be a girl! _Yao thought with disgust. _I'm going to be a junior, and I'm letting these stupid… underclassmen push me around! I never should have taken that bet! _Yao sighed. _But… I can't back out on a promise. _Yao was a sucker for old traditions, and he could never back out of a promise, no matter how embarrassing it was.

* * *

Finally, the day came. August was wildling away, and it was time for students to return to school, or in Yao and his brother's cases, go to school. The three brothers walked quietly, Yong Soo and Kiku out of fear and unease; Yao in shame. Yong Soo and Kiku felt uncomfortable in their brand-new uniforms with navy plaid pants, matching jackets and ties and a dark yellow sweater vest. It was very different from the kimonos they were used to. Yao couldn't believe how feminine he looked in his short, pink plaid skirt, matching tie and a yellow sweater vest to match the boys. His long hair was tied into a ponytail, and from any angle, he looked like a girl.

He shivered; it was a lot colder in Europe than it was in China, at least the part he lived in. Because he and his brothers lived so far from the school, they were given a dormitory that was filled with students from other parts of the world like America and Canada. This was partially a relief for Yao, because if he didn't go home, his parents wouldn't have to know he was cross-dressing.

"You… you look cute Yao." Kiku said. It was meant to be a compliment, but it did nothing but anger Yao more.

"Please leave me alone-aru." Yao said. "You guys have to get to your own classes now, right?" Without another word, he ditched his brothers and wandered around the ornate hallways of the school, killing time before he would have to meet his new classmates. He observed the building with awe. As much as he was wary of western ideas, their architecture was amazing. The wood of the walls were made into lace against the giants windows that lined one side of the hallway, and against the wall rested several fancy vases with classy designs. But eventually, it came time to actually head to class, and, reluctantly, Yao did so.

The class turned out to be unruly and loud, much to Yao's surprise. He looked at the loudest bunch of kids, who were grouped in the middle of the class. They were all blonde, except for one brunette. Two of them were arguing in the middle, one with pretty blue eyes and stubble, the other with vibrant green eyes and thick eyebrows. Behind them was a boy with sandier colored hair and glasses who was egging them on, and next to him was a student that looked almost identical, and was so quiet that no one seemed to notice him. Lastly, there were two boys who were laughing hysterically at the argument, one albino with snow-colored hair and the other with hair the color of milk chocolate and chestnut skin.

_Figures, _Yao thought, _I get the class with only boys. _He sat down at an empty desk in the front, and stared silently into space until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Yao turned slowly to find the blue-eyed arguing boy smiling at him.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." He said, pulling out a rose from his pocket. "Je m'apelle Francis Bonnefoy." He thrust the rose forcefully to Yao, who hesitantly took it. He had heard the language before; it was French. His mother had taught him a little of it, but he knew much more English.

"Euh… quoi?" Yao stuttered, trying to form the right words in his mind. "Je… je n'ai pa-parle pas l… la François."

"Close enough." The boy responded. "I'm sorry, sometimes I start talking in my native tongue. My name is Francis Bonnefoy." Francis grabbed Yao's hand and kissed it. "Enchante." Yao cringed. He had never been kissed on the hand before, much less from a creepy guy. "Mademoiselle, I think you are quite-" But Francis was cut off by a swift knock on the head by the green-eyed boy he had been arguing with, who was holding a thick, worn book.

"Ignore him. He does that to any person he finds cute." The boy stuck out his hand. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, it's a pleasure. " Yao gladly shook his hand, happy to meet someone that was at least partially normal.

"I'm-" Yao stopped, unsure if his voice would tip the others off that he was a boy. He didn't want his classmates first impression of him to be that creepy kid that cross-dressed.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked. _His accent… is he English? _Yao wondered silently.

"Woah! There's a new kid here!" It was the glasses boy that had been fueling Francis and Arthur's argument. His voice was loud and obnoxious. _Based on the stereotype, he must be an American, _Yao thought.

"Wait… a new kid-aru?" Yao finally said. "Isn't it the first day?" This time it was the American's silent, almost invisible twin that answered.

"Well, yes. But most students go here their entire time in high school. It's unusual to have anyone that isn't a freshman that's new." He turned to the American. "Alfred, it's not nice to call her the "new kid". Be polite, please?"

"Ah, whatever!" Alfred sighed. "Yo kid, what's your name?"

"I'm Yao Wang." Yao said, giving the boys a slight bow. Alfred burst out laughing.

"Wang?" He laughed. "Dude, your name sounds like a penis!" Yao looked down at his desk shyly, as Arthur glared at Alfred and pulled out his book.

"Will you shut up, you bloody wanker!" Arthur shouted, swinging his book down to him Alfred. Alfred quickly moved out of the way, so the book instead nailed Francis on the head.

"Zut alors! Mind watching yourself?" Francis hollered.

"Nice to meet you, Yao." It was Alfred's twin. He was smiling awkwardly, hoping that Yao would ignore the argument, "I'm Matthew, Alfred's brother." Yao shook his hand. He liked this boy; he seemed to be one of the few calm ones, but Yao had the feeling he was going to forget his name.

"Break it up, idiots!" The albino shouted, pushing Arthur and Francis apart. "You haven't given Yao the chance to meet the most awesome person yet!" He pointed to himself. "I'm Gilbert Belischmidt! And this is Antonio… uh… Antonio…"

"It's Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." The brunette said. Up until now, he had been staring out into space with a mellow expression while nibbling on a tomato he had pulled from his bag. Yao was disgusted; _how could he eat a tomato raw? _He silently wondered.

"Whatever. You're name is hard to pronounce." Gilbert said.

At that moment, the teacher walked in and class began. It was a boring day, full of long teacher introductions and permission slips that needed to be signed. In every class, Yao had at least one of the boys he had met in first block. And in every class, there was an ominous empty seat.

"Does anyone know where Ivan is?" The science teacher in second block asked.

"Who knows?" One of the students replied. "Does he ever show up?" Asked another. Yao was curious as to who this Ivan person was, but based on the student's reactions, he was probably not the best person to hang around.

* * *

At lunch, Yao sat with the group of boys he had met during first block. They were joined by Kiku, who had made two friends his age. One was a short, very feminine Italian named Feliciano, the other a tall, intimidating German student named Ludwig, who was Gilbert's younger brother. They were complete opposites of each other, but they somehow managed to get along. Yong Soo wasn't anywhere in sight. According to Kiku, he had a different lunch. Apparently he was really popular, which was no surprise.

"Ve~" Feliciano said, biting a piece of pizza. "Kiku, are you and Yao related? You look alike."

"Hai. He-" Kiku stopped at the furious glare Yao threw at him. "I mean, _she's_ my older sister."

"I'm jealous. You've got a cute sister." Yao glared at Feliciano, even though his eyes were shut as they always were. Yao hated being called cute. "I've got a brother, and he's kind of a dick." Feliciano said it with such a cute smile that Yao couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't call him a dick!" Antonio blurted out. "He's just… uh…"

"Who's your brother?" Kiku asked, disregarding Antonio.

"His name is Lovino! He's my older twin, and he-" Feliciano stopped as a girl walked into the cafeteria. She had long, sandy-blonde hair, and pretty, ocean-blue eyes. The only thing that detracted from her beauty was the icy glare that covered her face. She shot a dirty look in the direction of Yao's table and then went to the lunch line.

"Who was that?" Yao asked, puzzled. The other boys, except Kiku, looked at him nervously.

"That's Natalia." Francis finally said. "She's obviously one of the prettiest girls in the school. But also one of the scariest." He pulled up the sleeve of his coat to reveal a long, thin white line on his arm. "She gave me this scar about a year ago when I tried to hit on her. She pulled out some sharp scissors, broke them in half, then slashed me with the blade. She was suspended for a month." Yao gulped. Arthur laughed.

"That's what you get for hitting on every girl you see." Arthur said. Feliciano grabbed onto Ludwig's arm, getting him to blush and glare at the same time.

"Ve~ You'll protect me from Ivan and Natalia, right?" Feliciano asked cutely, nuzzling the German.

"Why are you asking me?" Ludwig asked, awkwardly pushing him away. "Just stay out of their way."

"Aww, why are you saying that?" Feliciano whined. "Are you scared?"

"I'm _not _scared!" Ludwig shouted. He sighed. "Fine, I'll protect them from you."

"Wait, what does Natalia have to do with Ivan-aru?" Yao asked.

"They're siblings." Alfred replied, "And freaky ones at that!" Ivan was still confused.

"This Ivan guy… what exactly is wrong with him?" Yao questioned.

"Personne ne sais pas." Francis said. "No one knows. But he and his sisters are suspected to be part of a gang."

"I heard he once beat up a kid with a water pipe he ripped from the wall!" Arthur remarked.

"I was told that he spends all day getting drunk." Arthur commented.

"Someone told me gets high behind the school." Ludwig added.

"I heard he killed a guy." Feliciano shivered.

"Regardless of the rumors…" Matthew said, "Just try to stay away from them, okay, Kiku and Yao?"

"Hai, I understand." Kiku said. Yao simply nodded.

"You can talk to Ivan's older sister though." Gilbert said. "She's nice. Kind of weird, though."

"Says you." Antonio remarked.

"Shut up!" Gilbert snapped.

"What's her name-aru?" Yao asked.

"Shit, I can't remember! It was long!" Gilbert said. "But you can't miss her. She has the biggest boobs!" Arthur smacked him.

"Control yourself." He muttered. This in turn led to another argument, which Yao watched with great amusement., almost forgetting all about Ivan and Natalia.

* * *

Yao plopped down in seventh block English class, exhausted. It had been a long day with all of the new friends he had made and the culture to get used to. Not to mention getting accustomed to being a girl. He was ripped from his thoughts when he felt a gentle tap on the shoulder. He turned to find another student he had not seen before staring back at him. He was very tall, at least six feet, with gray hair, glowing purple eyes and a big nose. He was wearing a faded pink scarf that draped around his shoulders and covered his neck. He smiled at Yao, but his presence made Yao nervous.

"Do… do you need something-aru?" Yao asked politely.

"Da. I came unprepared today." He responded. "Do you have a pencil I could borrow?" He had a thick Russian accent.

"Sure." Yao replied, pulling a pencil out for him. "Here you go." He handed him the pencil, but the Russian did not stop staring at Yao.

"I don't remember you from last year. You must be new." He asked. "What's your name?"

"Yeah, I'm new." Yao mumbled. "I'm Yao Wang."

"I'm Ivan Braginski."

Yao stared at him and his blood ran cold. Thoughts began swirling in his head, going a mile a minute: This was the person that was in a gang.

This was the person that beat a kid with a pipe.

This was the person that got drunk and high.

This was the person that killed a guy.

Yao shivered, trying to keep his face calm.

"Nice to meet you-aru." Yao finally said, feigning a smile.

"Alright everyone, sit down!" The teacher said. He began to call out names, and everyone said "here" as their name was called. "Was there anyone I missed?" He asked when he was finished. Ivan raised his hand. "Okay, who are you?"

"I'm Ivan Braginski." Ivan said. The class hushed, and stared fearfully at him.

"Oh, so you're Katyusha;s little brother, huh? Quite the delinquent, I've heard. This is the only class you've shown up to all day!"

"It's a long drive from my house." Ivan replied, smiling calmly.

"Yao is from China and he came here on time!" The teacher pointed out. Yao looked down at his desk. _Why did you have to bring me up? _He silently screamed. "Also, it's against the rules to add accessories to your uniform! Take the scarf off!"

"It's cold where I'm from." Ivan replied. His expression was unchanged, but his stare almost seemed icy, and the teacher took a nervous step back.

"…Whatever. It's the first day, I'll give you a break." He stuttered. "I don't have time to deal with this right now. Let's get class started."

Yao paid very little attention the rest of class; not that it mattered. It was the same as any other class with the tedious introductions and rules. Ivan didn't say a word after that, but his presence was still unsettling. Maybe it was just because of his reputation.

After school was over, Yao headed to the dormitories with little conversations with his new friends. He was tired, and desperate to get out of the atrocious mini-skirt he was in. Kiku and Yong Soo soon joined him, both eager to talk about their days. Yao listened half-heartedly, too busy thinking about what went on for him.

Though the situation was less that favorable, Yao was happy. When he first heard about the new school, he was incredibly nervous; but now that he had made these new friends, it wasn't so bad. _Maybe Ivan isn't bad either. _Yao thought. _If I jump to conclusions on everything, then I'll never be happy. Rumors might just be rumors. _He looked at his brothers, who were both beaming as they told each other their various experiences of the day. _I haven't seen them this happy in awhile. And, for the first time in a long while, Yao felt pride as an older brother. _

* * *

_A/N: Sooo, you guys want to know the origin of this crack fic? I had a dream where Korea persuaded China to be a girl at school. Sadly, this is not the weirdest dream I've had. (Lincoln... stop showing up!) Not that any of you care. This is just a prologue-thingy, but the plot should become more apparent soon! Also, the rating may be subject to change. I am a busy little high schooler, but I'll try to update weekly if I get the chance, but it's not unusual for me to be late or early. ...I have nothing else to say. I just hope you all like it! _


	2. Coming Out

**A/N: *Bangs head against wall* ANGST ANGST ANGST! ...Also, USxUK ahead. If you don't like that pairing, then please don't read/rant. **

* * *

Three weeks passed, and Yao soon got used to the routine- even if he was dressed as a girl the entire time. He memorized where his classes were in the building, was getting better at speaking English (though he would never drop the aru), and was getting sort of used to his new friends and their weird antics. Being at this school was much more fun than the quiet, reserved house he had lived and learnt in the past sixteen years, even if he was surrounded by a multitude of people he didn't know.

Ivan didn't show up to class as regularly as he should have, not that Yao minded. But when he did show up, he always seemed exhausted and hardly spoke. Yao was sure that Ivan's fatigue was due to whatever he was doing outside of class, but whatever it was, he didn't need to know.

"Wang and Kirkland, you two work together." The history teacher, who happened to be Lovino and Feliciano's grandfather, called out. The entire class had been divided into pairs to create a slide show about World War Two for a presentation next week. It was tedious, but Mr. Vargas claimed that he had gotten in trouble spending too much time talking about his grandsons when he should've been teaching.

Yao sighed with relief. He was aware that a lot of kids in the class like Tino, Raivis and Eduard were nice, but he knew Arthur the best. Unfortunately, Yao had never made a slide show before, so Arthur agreed to have him over at his house.

* * *

Unlike Yao and his brothers, Arthur lived pretty close to she school, so there was no need for him to get a dormitory. Yao was amazed by the Englishman's house. It was enormous, with ornate furnishings, hardwood floors and antique paintings. They eventually went to the study, which was adorned with bookshelves stuffed to the brim with thick and difficult-looking texts, multiple tables and couches, and a large desk with a computer on it. Arthur went to go get them a snack, so Yao randomly pulled out a book from the shelf and plopped down on one of the many couches to read. _The World's Best Fairytales, _it read. Yao smirked; leave it to the self-proclaimed wizard to have a book like this lying around. The book was quite worn from use, with crayon marks and rips on the pages.

"What are you gendering at?" Arthur asked, carrying a small silver tray. "Oh, that book. It used to be Al's and my favorite." He sat down beside Yao, staring nostalgically at the old volume.

"Which one was your favorite-ahen?" Yao asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen between the two.

"_Little Two Eyes_." Arthur replied. "Or maybe _Alice in Wonderland_. I don't know, I always liked the weird ones. Alfred was obsessed with the ones where a hero would save the day like _Robin Hood_."

"That figures." Yao said sarcastically. "Leave it to the hero-ahen." He laughed.

"I guess…" Arthur trailed off, his eyes never leaving the book. He eventually noticed the tray, and held it towards Yao. "You want a scone?" Yao glanced at the pale, pathetic excuses for food that sat on the plate.

"No thanks, I'll just stick with tea." Yao said. _I'd rather starve to death than eat that crap, _he thought. Arthur poured them both a glass of earl gray tea in fancy, porcelain cups and turned on the computer.

"I guess we'll start with the economic downfal- bloody hell!" Arthur shouted.

"What is it-ahen?"

"Nothing. That bloody Alfred just keeps changing my background to something annoying." He gestured to the screen, where a giant, rainbow smiley face was flashing annoyingly. Yao laughed.

"You guys must be pretty close, huh?" Yao said.

"What makes you think that?" Arthur said, adverting his eyes so they wouldn't make contact with Yao's.

"He's all you ever talk about-ahen."

"That's only because we've known each other for awhile." Yao noticed Arthur's cheeks turn pink, and he had the same look on his face that Ludwig had when Feliciano made his clingy advances, or the look Matthew had had when he was watching Francis quietly. He smirked. Yao had no interest in love himself, but it would be fun to play with the others.

"You like him-ahen!" Yao said simply, causing Arthur to spill his tea all over his lap.

"What the hell are you going on about?" Arthur shouted frantically, his face tomato-red. "Never mind! I-I need to get a towel!" Arthur stormed out of the room and Yao sighed.

"Maybe that was a stupid thing to do…" Yao thought out loud. "It's obviously true though." At that moment, a boy walked in. He was very small, probably about eight or nine, and had eyebrows identical to Arthur, short, tan hair and big, blue eyes.

"Hello." The boy said. "I'm Peter."

"Ni-hao." Yao replied. "I'm Yao Wang. Are you Arthur's little brother-aru?"

"Uh-huh, but I bother him too much. He likes to pretend I don't exist." Peter said it with an air of confidence. "But someday, I'm going to be so much stronger than he is! He'll regret it."

"Good luck with that." Yao said, patting his head.

"What were you guys talking about? Was it something gross and romancey?"

"I guess you could say that-aru." Yao responded.

"It takes a lot to get him that mad." Peter said, pouring himself some tea and then dumping handfuls of sugar into it. "You mentioned Alfred."

"Yeah, I did."

"He likes him a lot." Peter took a sip of his tea, which was almost saturated with sugar. "I don't really get it, but I know that Al's family doesn't like that. You know, both of them being boys?" That's when Arthur walked in, his clothes still a bit damp. He glared at Peter and threw his towel at him.

"Hey! Don't bother Yao!" He scolded. "We're trying to do some homework! Go watch anime or something!"

"Whatever, it would be boring, anyways." Peter waved on his way out. "See you later, Yao."

"Ignore him." Arthur said after he left. "He thinks he's so mature just because he watches anime that's for teenagers."

"I think he's insightful-ahen." Yao said. "He knows about you and Alfred."

"He doesn't know anything! And like I said, there's nothing between us!" Arthur protested, his face turning red again. "Why do you care, anyway?" Yao grinned, happy for once to be in the girl's uniform.

"I'm a _girl._ I love all of that girly, lovey-dovey stuff!" Arthur stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"C-can you keep a secret, Yao?" He finally asked. Yao nodded, and Alfred leaned in and whispered into his ear: "I like Alfred, okay? I have for awhile. It's just that…" He pulled away, nervously looking at the floor.

"What? I think you should go for it-ahen!"

"No, not that. His parents are homophobes; they'd kick him out of the house for sure if he was gay. And he probably isn't, anyways…" Arthur looked up at Yao hopelessly. "Could you do me a favour?"

"Of course." Yao answered, feeling a bit remorseful for bringing up this topic.

"Could you talk to Al for me, and… uh, find a way to, I don't know, bring me up? He can't talk seriously with me, but maybe with you…"

"No problem. I owe you for starting this anyway-ahen." Yao turned to the computer. "Now, let's get back to the project."

* * *

At school the next day, Yao made sure to pull Alfred aside during lunch. He was chatty and upbeat as usual, which was going to make the conversation a bit harder.

"Dude, what's up?" Alfred asked impatiently. "Why'd you take me all the way out here?" They were behind the cafeteria building in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Not very many students came out there because it was always covered in shade and cold.

"It's so no one will hear us-aru." Yao said.

"Ooh, is this a love confession?" Alfred asked bluntly, unfazed at the possibility. "Sorry Yao, but I got a bunch of other girls after me!"

"Oh really? Who?" Yao asked sarcastically.

"Uh, well…" Alfred scratched his head. "There's uh…"

"Well, I know someone that likes you-aru."

"Really? Who? I mean… who _else_?"

"Let's see. They're very close to you… and always have been."

"Who?" Alfred asked, getting impatient.

"Arthur." Yao stared silently at Alfred's stunned expression, and took his silence as an opportunity to talk. "Arthur told me he likes you. I know he's sarcastic a lot, but this actually isn't a trick-aru. The only reason he hasn't told you is because-"

"Of my parents." Alfred interrupted, his tone serious for once. "I should have guessed. Man, this causes a lot of problems…"

"What about you? Do you like him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Like I told Arthur. I'm a girl; I'm interested in this sort of thing-aru."

"Well…" Alfred blushed ever so slightly, something Yao had never seen before. "Dude, can you keep a secret." Yao smiled; it was amusing how similar Arthur and Alfred truly were.

"Yeah." Alfred crossed his arms and gave Yao the same, over-confident grin he always wore.

"I don't like Arthur, and I wish he wasn't my friend. Because I love him, and I wish he were more." Yao gawked at him, and then began to laugh. It was the cheesiest thing he had ever heard; like a line you would expect to be in a princess movie. "Hey! Why are you laughing? I was totally trying to be serious here!" "Sorry, it was just so cheesy-aru!"

"Fine, I'll give you that." Alfred said meekly.

"Thanks for telling me that. Actually, Arthur wanted me to find out if you liked him too. I'll-" He was cut off by Alfred's firm grip on his arm.

"Don't tell him. Don't you dare." He said, glaring.

"What? Why-aru?" Yao asked, ripping his arm out of Alfred's hand fearfully.

"Because. News like this spreads like wildfire. If you told him, someone else is gonna find out, and if it got to my parents…" He trailed off

"Well, so what?" Yao questioned, a bit frustrated. "You should open up to them! If they truly loved you they'd be fine with it-aru!"

"_It's not that simple!_" Alfred shouted. Yao backed off, a bit scared. Alfred sighed and placed his hand on his forehead. "…I'm sorry. Just give me some time, okay? Don't tell Artie yet." He ran off before Yao could get another word in, leaving Yao feeling a bit anxious about what to do next.

* * *

A couple days passed with little event. Arthur kept giving Yao glances whenever they met, silently asking him if he had talked to Alfred yet. Yao simply wasn't sure what to do. He wanted Alfred and Arthur to get together, but he didn't want to piss Alfred off in the process. He had heard that Alfred could be pretty scary when he was really mad.

Finally, Yao couldn't take it anymore. Alfred was stubborn, but he'd have to get over his fears, especially if he was going to be happy.

"Arthur, can I talk to you-ahen?" Yao asked at the beginning of school one day. Arthur nodded, knowing what it was about.

"How's Alfred?" Arthur asked indifferently, trying not to make it obvious that he was nervous.

"He's… ayiaa, how do I say this?" Yao mumbled, scratching his head. "He's gay." Arthur's usually judgmental expression turned into an uncharacteristically bright smile.

"He is? Thank goodness, I-"

"Just don't say anything-ahen!" Yao warned. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that. He's worried about his parents." Arthur nodded, and Yao beamed. "Congratulations-ahen!" They stood in an awkward silence, other than the murmuring of the bustling crowd around them. Everything that needed to be said had been said, so they went their separate ways, both with a grin across their face.

Yao continued the day normally- boring lectures, lots of homework, entertaining fights at lunch between his friends, and Ivan didn't show up to class yet again. But from the corner of his eye, he noticed that Arthur seemed to be happier than usual. He went to his dormitories, feeling more content than usual at his accomplishments.

In the middle of fifth block, right after lunch, Yao felt a buzz in his pocket. It turned out to be his cell phone. Though he had already added all of his new friend's numbers, he rarely got any texts. He read the name out loud: "Alfred Jones". That's when he realized that Alfred hadn't shown up to any of his classes or lunch today. Yao flipped his phone open. _Meet me behind the cafeteria building, ASAP, _it read. Yao sighed. He was almost positive about what the matter was. _But it's for Alfred's own good, _he reassured himself.

The back of the cafeteria building was cold and deserted as usual. Yao shivered as he walked towards the figure of Alfred leaning against the wall. His eyes were red and swollen, and his usually cocky smirk was curled into a frown.

"Ni-hao, Alfred." Yao greeted as happily as he could. "How are you? I didn't see you in class-aru."

"How the _hell _do you think I am?" Alfred asked, shooting a glare at Yao. Yao silently took a few steps back.

"What happened?" He asked nervously.

"A certain _somebody _decided to tell Arthur that I was gay in a huge crowd of people. And _somehow, _that information got to my parents." Alfred's voice got louder and angrier as he stepped closer to Yao with each word. "They called and yelled at me for hours…" He stopped and grabbed Yao's shoulders and squeezed tightly, causing Yao to wince. "_Who's fault is it?" _

"It's no one's fault-aru." Yao said, staring back at Alfred as confidently as he could. "You're gay, and your parents are going to have to deal with it sooner or later-aru."

"Shut the hell up!" Alfred shouted, his face red with rage. "You just don't get it! They're gonna kick me out of the house! All because I chose-"

"You didn't _choose_-aru!" Yao stated, getting frustrated. "Don't you get it? It's your parents who are wrong, not you and-"

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!" Alfred screamed. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched Yao in the stomach. Yao didn't see it coming, and fell backwards with a yelp. He clutched his stomach, trying to catch his breath. Alfred stomped over to him, glaring and shouting things too fast for Yao to understand. He began to kick him again and again in the head and the stomach, until Yao was coughing up blood. Yao knew martial arts, but he decided to take it, knowing that Alfred would realize his mistakes and stop.

"_BURN IN HELL!" _Alfred kicked Yao one final time, and he went numb. His vision got blurred and he felt sore all over- too sore to talk. He wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep, but he couldn't even do that.

"It's mean to hit a girl, da?" Yao heard the voice, but it didn't register. It wasn't Alfred's voice, so who…? Al disappeared from his view, and Yao slowly closed his eyes and let sleep take over. The last thing he noticed was a water pipe fall to the ground, and the sensation of being wrapped by someone's large, cold arms.

* * *

_A/N: ...And the moral of the story? DUN F**K WITH AMERICA! ...Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for the massive amounts of favorites, alerts, reviews, ect. They really help motivate me to do more! Also, I do like Alfred. I just needed him to be a plot device for this chapter. Same with Iggy, Mr. Vargas, Sealand/Peter and... so much more. PLOT DEVICES! PLOT DEVICES EVERYWHERE! Don't worry, he'll stop bitchin' in the next one. And Ivan will make more appearances. Also, have any of you actually read "Little Two Eyes"? It's pretty weird. Anyways, til' next time! ~_


	3. Rumours

**A/N: I have a message for the person has been trolling me: DERP DE HERP DE DERPITY HOLY ROME DE DERPY HERPY DERP HAMBURGER DERP DE DERPITY DERP DE JEEEEEEEEBUZ. **

**...That is all. Now enjoy this chapter. ^_^**

* * *

Yao awoke silently, and squinted at the bright, florescent lights above him. He had to strain to see because the entire room was painted an annoying, radiant white. Yao tried to get up, but his body stung when he tried to move. Yao looked down at his legs and noticed they were covered with ugly bruises and scrapes. He didn't bother to look anywhere else; he was pretty sure the rest of his body looked the same.

"Good morning." A voice said. Yao attempted to turn and look, but even that hurt too much. His face felt swollen, and he couldn't open his left eye. "Don't move too much. It must hurt a lot, da?" That's when it finally registered- the voice was Ivan's. He hadn't shown up to class in awhile, so Yao had almost forgotten what it sounded like. Too tired to be scared, Yao decided to talk with him.

"Where… where am I-aru?" Yao asked.

"In the infirmary," Ivan replied. "You got pretty beat up. It's not fair for Alfred to beat up a delicate girl like you." Yao glared, even though he wasn't facing Ivan.

"I'm not a-" He stopped mid-sentence. "I'm not delicate! There was a reason I didn't fight back-aru!"

"Hopefully he knows that. He's being questioned right now."

"Questioned?"

"Da. He wouldn't get off that easily after beating you up like he did."

"I feel fine-aru." Yao lied.

"That black eye says different." Yao reached up for his left eye and felt the bruised skin around it with a wince.

"Ugh… how did I get here?" Other than getting beaten up, Yao couldn't remember a thing.

"I carried you here. After stopping Alfred, of course."

"How did you do that-aru?"

"Simple." Ivan said, a happy, child-like ring to his voice. "I hit him with an iron pipe." Yao didn't reply to this, simply because he wasn't sure what to say. Instead he just stared at the ceiling in silence. "Isn't it boring to be staring at the ceiling?" Ivan finally asked.

"It hurts to move-aru." Yao replied, a little embarrassed.

"Oh? Then I'll help you!" In an instant, Yao felt the same, cold arms from earlier lift him up then put him back down so he was facing the chair Ivan was sitting in. Yao glared again, but Ivan just smiled back innocently.

"_Aiyaa_! What was that for?" Yao exclaimed.

"Because you looked bored." There was another silence, until it was finally broken by Yao.

"Why did you help me-aru?" He asked.

"Who wouldn't?" Was Ivan's rely. "Alfred is well known for being a very tough fighter." Ivan pulled down his sleeve a little bit, revealing a large, purple bruise. "He tried to hit me in the face and I blocked it."

"Well, why were you back there-aru?" Yao asked.

"I like to hang out back there and-"

"Get high?" The moment Yao said it, he regretted it. Ivan stared back at him, looking like a confused, naïve child.

"High? What are you talking about?"

"I-it's just a rumor I heard-aru!" Yao said defensively. Ivan continued to stare back, his violet eyes almost glowing.

"Ah, there are lots of those. What else have you heard?" Yao hesitated for a moment, but the Russian's icy look told him to keep going.

"Aiyaa… well, you're in a gang. You beat up a kid with an iron pipe. You get drunk. You get high and…" Yao gulped nervously. "You killed a guy-aru." I van smiled back, and his eyes seemed to be looking elsewhere.

"Hmm…. Two of those are false." He said, with the same, obnoxious grin.

_Only two? _Yao thought fearfully_. _

"Can you guess which two?" Ivan continued. "I'll give you a prize." Yao sighed. _Maybe if I do this, he'll leave me alone, _he thought.

"You don't…" Yao thought for a moment, going through the long list of rumors. "You don't get high and you haven't killed anyone-aru."

"Da, you're correct. Good for you, Yao-Yao."

"So…" Yao glared, he hated degrading nicknames like that. "What's my prize?" Quicker than a person his size should be able to move, Ivan was on top of Yao, giving him a dark smile.

"This, da?" He forced his lips against Yao's without any hesitation. Yao gasped, giving Ivan the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue inside of Yao's mouth. Yao winced at the weight on his body and the disgusting taste of vodka that was in his mouth.

"_Aiyaa!" _Yao screamed and, summoning all of his power, pushed Ivan off of him. Ivan fell to the floor, shocked by his strength. That's when the door opened, revealing Alfred and a small, spacey-looking blonde girl with small, green eyes. She threw a cocky grin at Ivan and was completely unafraid of him.

"The principal will see you now." Alfred said to Ivan without making eye contact. Ivan nodded and followed the blonde girl out, while Alfred threw a few nervous glances at Yao. He sat beside Yao's bed, and Yao noticed some dried blood on his forehead. _Must have been where Ivan hit him, _he thought. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, until Alfred finally spoke.

"Dude… I'm sorry." He said, smiling at Yao solemnly. "I shouldn't have beaten you up. I've honestly never hit someone that hard before, especially a girl."

"It's fine-aru. I've gotten into fights before."

"Yeah, but still… It was stupid of me…" Alfred mumbled.

"It's fine, it's fine-aru." Yao said. "Anyways, what did the principal say?"

"Well, I've been suspended for two weeks. And that's pretty generous, seeing what I did to you."

"Like I said, I'm fine."

"It's five o' clock. You've been out for like two hours."

"Really? Aiyaa… I hope Yong Soo and Kiku aren't too worried… but what are you going to do on your two weeks-aru?"

"I guess I'll try to patch things up with my folks. And if they kick me out, I'll just crash at Arthur's. He won't mind." He said this with a sly smile.

"You seem better." Yao commented.

"Yeah, well other than shattering my glasses, I guess that blow to the head knocked my brain back in place."

"That's good." Yao got up slowly, ignoring his pain; all he wanted right now was to get home. "I should really head back to my dorm-aru."

"I'll walk you there. I need to grab a few things, anyways."

* * *

Alfred and Yao walked together from the deserted campus building to the dorms. Alfred talked on and on about random things and seemed really upbeat. However, Yao wasn't really listening to him. He was too busy thinking about Ivan and why the hell he would ever kiss someone he barely knew, even if they were a girl.

"Dude… dude, we're here…" Yao's thoughts were interrupted by Alfred persistently poking his shoulder.

"Oh! Okay." Yao mumbled. "So… you'll be okay at home?"

"Yeah dude, I'll be fine." Alfred smiled nervously, then quickly pulled Yao into his arms. "Thank you so much. I seriously owe you one. If you ever need something, just let me know."

"Uh, s-sure…" Yao stuttered. _If he knew I was a boy, there's no way in hell he'd be doing this… _Yao thought. Alfred finally let go, and began to walk away.

"Later. I'll see you in two weeks." Yao watched silently as Alfred slowly vanished from sight, and eventually went into his dorm. Before getting a word of greeting, he was tackled to the floor.

"AAAANNNNNNIIIIIKKKKIIIIIII!" Yong Soo screamed.

"Aiyaa! What do you want Yong Soo? Ow!"

"I was so worried! What took you so long to- whoa! You look terrible!"

"Gee, thanks-aru." Yao looked up to find Kiku staring back at them indifferently while drinking tea.

"Konnichiwa, onee-san. Welcome home." Kiku said.

"Thanks for worrying about me." Yao replied sarcastically as he got up.

"What happened?" Yong Soo asked. "You're covered in bruises. Did you get into a fight?"

"Sort of…" Yao trailed off, not wanting to admit that he got beaten up without a fight.

"With whom?" Kiku asked, though he still seemed uninterested.

"Alfred. He's pretty strong-aru."

"I can tell." Yao sighed and ignored Kiku's remark.

"I'm going to make lo mein and moo goo gai pan. Yong Soo, do you know where the wok is?" Yao asked, heading towards the kitchen.

"No, why?" Yong Soo replied.

"It's traditional to give someone who helped you something in return-aru. Ivan got Alfred to stop fighting with me so-"

"Wait, Ivan _helped_ you?" Kiku asked, a bit shocked. "Isn't he the creepy one?"

Yeah, but he helped me for some reason…" Yao still wasn't sure why he helped him. "So I'm going to make him something-aru."

"Wait, you're actually going to go to that creep's house?" Yong Soo asked. Yao nodded.

"Yao…" Kiku began, looking uncharacteristically worried. "Please be careful. Yao couldn't help but grin; it had been forever since his siblings had worried about him this much. Without another word, he headed for the kitchen to prepare the meal.

* * *

The next day was Saturday, so Yao decided to go to Ivan's house. He was dismayed to learn that Ivan was telling the truth on the fist day of school and his house was about two hours away from train. Yao wanted to get the delivery out of the way as soon as he could, repeating the same reassuring comment in his head: _Get to the house, deliver it, leave. Get to the house, deliver it, leave. _

It was just like any other weekend when Yao left: Kiku was gone, apparently learning how to play football with Ludwig and Feliciano, while Yong Soo was on the internet, playing some online video game. Yao put on a gender-neutral silk robe so he could pass as a girl and set out. He boarded the train silently and sat alone, which gave him the chance to think as he wordlessly gazed out the window. As they got closer and closer to where Ivan lived, Yao noticed the lush and green scenery of Europe fade into the bleak, snow-covered fields of Russia.

"I guess if I had to live out here, I'd be weird too-aru." Yao muttered to himself.

After the train arrived, Yao took a taxi to the address he had scrawled on a piece of paper: 56556_, _зимой Road_._ _At least the number's easy to remember, _Yao thought, _don't know how to pronounce the street name though. _The driver nodded to inform Yao they had arrived. Yao paid him the fare then proceeded to the house. It was much different than he had imagined. It was a large, old-fashioned mansion with giant glass windows and old-fashioned wooden pillars all about the house. The building was made of white brick and the roof would be black if it weren't covered in snow. Yao walked up to the giant, wooden doors, which had a metal knocker in the middle that was in the shape of a bear.

Yao shivered, half out of cold and half out of fear. He dreaded seeing Ivan again, especially after the kiss; if you could even call it that.

"Just get it over with." Yao told himself. He gripped the cold, metal knocker and hit the door three times.

* * *

_A/N: Mah first kiss went a little like- oh wait, I hate that song. Sorry to end it on a cliffhanger (?), but if I kept in more, this chapter would be wayyyyy too long. So... Ivan's romantic huh?"Hey, guess what? I'm in a gang. *kiss*" ...Sorry, I am incredibly slap-happy at the moment because I just ate a GIANT churro, and also... 5 MORE WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT! ...Ahem. I would like to thank you all for the favorites and reviews, and I hope I didn't make Alfred seem too much like a douche. Also, fun fact: 565565 types out "kolkol". ...no life I haz. _


	4. The Braginski Family

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness! My only excuse is... school. T.T**

* * *

The door opened quickly after Yao knocked, revealing a tall girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She had enormous breasts that almost seemed to make noise when she moved.

"Hello. Can I help yo-" She stopped halfway through when she noticed the black eye and the various bruises spread about Yao's body. "Oh my god! What did Ivan do to you? You poor dear!" She began to tear up and hugged Yao tightly. Her grip was firm and it stung Yao's bruises while her breasts were nearly suffocating him.

"Ivan didn't do this-aru." Yao clarified, pushing away from her. "Actually, if it weren't for him, this would have been a lot worse."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry. When I saw you, I assumed the worst… anyways, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could give this to Ivan?" Yao lifted up the meal, which he had placed in a box then wrapped in a silk handkerchief. "I made it as a 'thank you' for Ivan saving me-aru."

"Oh that…" She began to tear up again. "That's so sweet! Oh, you must come in. Get out of the cold!" She grabbed Yao's wrist and pulled him inside. "By the way, my name's Katyusha, what's your name?"

"Uh… I'm Wang Yao." Yao said, distracted by the interior of the house. It was a lot fancier than he had anticipated. He didn't think that Ivan would live in a "nice" neighborhood like this one.

"Okay, Yao. I'll go make us some coffee. Brother should be in his room. It's up the stairs and to the left, three doors down." She pointed to the grand staircase. "I'm sure he'll love your gift." Without another word she headed to the kitchen. Hesitantly, Yao went up the stairs. As he walked he observed the spotless wooden floor and the eerie glow the walls seemed to emit from their shine. It seemed so organized and clean that it was scary. Finally he reached Ivan's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Ivan said. His voice sounded uneasy for some reason. Yao hesitantly opened the door and was nearly blinded. The room was large and all of the walls were painted an eerie white except for the eastern one, which was an enormous window with two white drapes pulled to either side. The room was void of almost any furniture. There was a king-sized bed against one wall with white sheets and pillows, and a small bedside table and dresser beside it. Across the room there was a white desk with a matching chair. The only things in the room that had color was the random textbooks from school that were scattered about his desk, and the ceiling, which was painted to look like a massive sunflower field. Currently, Ivan was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling so intently that he didn't noticed who had come into the room.

"Uh… ni-hao, Ivan…" Yao began cautiously. Ivan bolted upright and smiled at Yao with that annoying, childish grin.

"Hello, Yao-Yao! What are you doing here?" Ivan beamed. "I thought you were… never mind, it's not important."

"Okay. I… decided to give you this as a thanks for helping me-aru." Yao held the package towards Ivan who cradled it in his arms like one might hold a kitten. "It's lo mein and moo goo gaipan."

"You want to eat it together?" Ivan asked, now fumbling with the package in his bulky gloves.

"Eh? No. I made it for you-aru." Yao replied.

"Well you might as well have something you like for dinner, da?"

"What do you mean? I'm not staying that long."

"Not in this weather." Ivan pointed to the window, where thick flakes of snow were rapidly falling from the sky.

"Aiyaaa… how will I get home-aru?"

"Don't worry." Ivan put his hand on Yao's shoulder. "Stay with us."

"No." Yao protested, shrugging the hand off. "I'm sorry, but I can't impose." Ivan grabbed Yao again and stared deeply at him, his eyes lit like purple flames.

"You're not imposing. I insist." Yao finally couldn't take the pressure and nodded.

* * *

It turned out there was more than enough food to feed Ivan, Katyusha and Yao. Natalia did not show up for dinner, for reasons unknown. Afterwards, Yao headed towards the large, rectangular guest room with a four-poster bed that had red sheets, a matching dresser beside it and a small desk. There was a small window to the west that framed the bleak, snow-covered landscape outside. Yao looked around cautiously and, as soon as he knew he was alone, called Kiku.

"Moshi-moshi?" Kiku answered, his tone sounded more frantic than usual.

"Ni-hao, Kiku. It's me-aru." Yao replied.

"Yao! Where have you been? I… I assumed the worst."

"You're such a pessimist!" Yao laughed. "I'm fine. It's a blizzard over here, so I'm staying the night-aru." There was a brief pause until Kiku uneasily responded.

"Onii-chan… please be careful." Without another word he hung up, and Yao couldn't help but giggle at his younger brother's response.

"It's been years since he called me "onii-chan". Yao said, a small smile creeping across his face. He tucked himself into bed, reassuring himself that the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner he could leave this dreary place and spend time with his brothers. He flicked off the light and soon fell asleep.

Yao was awoken when he heard a loud clatter and felt a sudden weight on his chest. He flicked on the lamp that was beside him only to find that Natalia was sitting on top of him, holding a knife and above her head and was ready to strike. When she noticed him wake up, she held the knife to his throat and glared.

"Why are you here, and what the hell do you want with my dear brother?" She demanded.

"Huh? Nothing! I wanted to leave, but I couldn't because of the storm-aru!" "That's a lie! I know you're lying! I see the way he looks at you, and no one's going to take my brother from me!" She raised the knife again, and looked ready to kill when it slipped from her hand. She turned in frustration only to find that Ivan had come into the room unnoticed and taken it. "Brother dear!" She gasped.

"Natalia, didn't I tell you to be a good girl, especially when we had guests?" Ivan said, sounding tired.

"But brother, dear! She's trying to take you from me! I'm just doing what's best for both of us!" Ivan wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the bed, causing her to blush. He set her down and she remained silent from the shock.

"Go to bed, Natalia. We'll talk about this later. It's almost two a.m." Ivan said calmly.

"Fine, but only for you brother. I'm still going to kill that girl!" She stormed out of the room and down the hall until they heard a door shut. Both Ivan and Yao let out a sigh of relief.

"What was that all about-aru?" Yao saked.

"That's… well, I doted upon Natalia too much as a kid, and now she wants to marry me… basically."

"Okay then." Yao replied awkwardly. "Well thanks for the help." He rolled over in bed and waited for Ivan to leave, but heard no sound. "Aren't you going back to bed-aru?"

"No. The moment I leave, she'll come back and slit your throat." Ivan said rather cheerfully. "So I'll just stay here, da?" Yao shivered though he was warm under the sheets. The last thing he wanted was this creeper watching him sleep. _But that's better than getting your throat slit by an incestuous, homicidal little sister. _Yao curled up under the sheets so that his head barley poked out, and he glanced at Ivan. His violet eyes glowed in the dark, but in a way that slowly lulled Yao to sleep.

* * *

The bright sun reflecting off of the snow woke Yao early the next day. Too lazy to get up, he rolled over, and was shocked to find Ivan asleep beside him. Yao quickly covered his mouth so Ivan wouldn't hear his gasp and wake up.

_Aiyaa! What is he doing here? _Yao thought frantically. Yao eventually calmed down, but didn't move in fear of waking Ivan. He eventually focused his eyes on Ivan's face. He was dead asleep; his face pale-white and his silver hair was draped messily over his eyes. That's when Yao noticed a small bruise on his left cheek. _Alfred must have done that, _Yao assumed. _I'd hit him too if I were about to be beaten with a water pipe. _He looked at his own bruises, which were ever so slightly beginning to fade. _I hope Alfred is alright. _

Yao's gaze eventually landed on the soft and fuzzy fabric of the Russian's scarf. _How can he sleep with that thing on, _Yao wondered. He tugged quietly on the scarf and Ivan's eyes shot open, and he quickly knocked Yao's hand away.

"Don't touch my scarf." Ivan gave Yao a stern look, his eyes glowing menacingly.

"Sorry. I thought you looked uncomfor- wait, why are you sleeping in my bed-aru?"

"Because the desk chair isn't that comfortable." Yao glared and got up.

"It stopped snowing. I should go now." Yao attempted to get off the bed, but was pulled down by Ivan.

"Aww, why so soon?" He pouted.

"I have homework to do! Leggo!" Yao protested.

"But I won't see you for awhile…" Ivan complained.

"Huh? Why not?" Yao felt Ivan's arms slowly release him, so he sat up.

"I've been suspended for three weeks."

"Three? Why so long?" Yao questioned. "Alfred was only suspended for two. Besides, you're the one that saved me-aru!"

"They don't trust me." Ivan shrugged. "This wasn't the first time I beat someone up with a pipe."

"Okay then…" Yao hesitated. He really didn't want to know anything more. "I really need to go-aru."

"…Fine. I'll miss you, da?"

"Why?"

"Because you're my only friend." Yao noticed the Russian's face looked sad and serious for once and he was overcome with pity. _What would a girl do in this situation? _Nervously, he crawled to where Ivan sat on the bed and hugged him cautiously.

"Thanks for helping me out-aru." Yao mumbled half-heartedly. Yao tried to le go, but Ivan quickly grabbed his waist and squeezed tight, beaming.

"Yao-Yao likes me! Yao-Yao likes me!" Ivan chanted.

"Quit calling me that-aru!" Yao eventually squirmed out of his grip and headed out the door. "See you in three weeks."

"Da! Bye!" Ivan replied cheerfully.

When Yao headed out, he was greeted by Katyusha who made him coffee and toast. Much to his relief, Natalia didn't seem to be around.

"Well, I hope to see you again sometime." Katyusha said, tearing up yet again. "Sorry, I'm terrible with goodbyes!" She engulfed Yao into another life-threatening hug.

"Yeah, see you later." Yao said, pushing away for gasps of air. Just as he was about to leave, the front door swung open, revealing a tall man in a gray overcoat. He had black hair that was slowly graying, a thick mustache and beady, dark eyes. He glared down at Katyusha and Yao, his presence even more unsettling than Ivan's.

"Who the hell is this?" His accent was heavy, and Yao had a hard time understanding him.

"Father," Katyusha began. "This is Yao Wang. She's one of Ivan's friends at school."

"Hello, sir." Yao bowed, not wanting to make any direct contact with this man. "

"Huh. So that boy actually made a friend?" He chuckled menacingly then walked down the hall.

"Sorry… Like I said, see you later!" Katyusha pushed Yao outside hastily and shut the door behind her.

"What was that all about-aru?" Yao wondered out loud. _Maybe it's best I don't know… _

* * *

_A/N: I WANT COFFEE AND TOAST! 10 Awesome points to whoever actually got that reference. As usual, I would like to thank everyone for all of the favorites and reviews. What people write is amusing, da? (^J^) Anyways, sorry about the lateness. This week was just as busy as hell, and it's not even finals time yet! Summer, please hurry up! ...Enough ranting. I'll give you a sneak peak for the next chapter: Guess who like totally like makes like another appearance! It's exactly who you think it is. _


	5. Snow

**A/N Like: 15 times. Aren't I amazing? **

* * *

He was only suspended for three weeks, but Ivan didn't come back to school until halfway through the fourth week. He seemed even more tired and distant than usual, but he always smiled whenever he passed Yao in the hallways. Unfortunately, this lead to more horrifying glares from Natalia.

Weeks soon passed by, and Yao tried his best to forget about what happened at the Braginski's house and made sure to never tell anyone about it. He was fairly content with the way things were- other than the constant threat from Natalia, Yao didn't have to feel in danger of Ivan anymore. Just a bit wary.

One day, while walking down the hallway, Yao accidentally crashed into a blonde girl. She was too busy texting to notice where she was going and fell to the floor.

"Ow… that like, totally hurt!" The girl complained.

"Uh, sorry?" Yao replied, holding out his hand to help her out.

"Oh! You're like, Yao Wang!" The girl said after getting up. "I've like, totally wanted to talk to you!"

"Do I know you-aru?" Yao sighed. _Please shut up, the way you're talking is giving me a headache! _

"You like, totally don't remember me? That sucks! I'm the nurses assistant. And I like, totally covered for you!"

"What are you talking about-aru?" Yao asked, getting more annoyed by the second.

"I like, made sure that like, no one fund out you were like, actually a dude!" Yao gasped, and glared at her fiercely.

"How did you find out?" Yao questioned. "You better not tell anyone or I swear I'll-"

"Like relax, will ya? I'm not like, gonna tell anyone. I'm Feliks Lukasiewicz, and I'm like a guy too!" Feliks smiled. "You're like, totally impressive! Everyone like seriously believes that you're a girl!" Yao stared at Feliks in bewilderment, unsure whether or not to be insulted by the statement.

"Why the hell are you dressed like a girl-aru?" Yao finally asked.

"Cause I'm cute!" Felkis answered. " Also, there's like, this guy that I like, totally like! He's like, super cute… but he likes Natalia… so I decided to dress as a girl to like, attract him! Don't you think I'm cute?"

"So… what do you want-aru?" Yao repeated. He was ready to punch Feliks in the face, and he knew he wouldn't feel guilty about hitting another boy- no matter how feminine he was.

"Oh… well, Toris like totally wants me to thank you."

"Toris… Toris Lorinaitis?" Yao said, vaguely remembering the shy, quiet boy from a couple of his classes.

"Yup! He like, totally said that Ivan's been like, a lot nicer to him than usual!"

"What does Toris have to do with Ivan-aru?"

"Oh… whoops! I like, said too much! All I like, know is that Toris's father like, totally owes Ivan's father a lot of money so Ivan like, has to like beat him up from time to time."

"What did you say?" Yao asked, appalled.

"I like, shouldn't say anymore." He grinned deviously. "I'll make you a deal. You like, don't tell anyone about what I like, told you, and I won't tell anyone that you're like, totally a chick. Anyways, I've gotta go." Felicks ran off before giving Yao a chance to accept or decline the deal. Yao stood alone silently, gazing at the spot Feliks had just been standing in, contemplating what he had been told. _Ivan… _he thought, _Ivan did say that he was in a mob… _

* * *

"Ve~ why are you asking me about that?" Feliciano asked. Yao had caught up with him and Ludwig in the library and asked if he knew anything about the Italian mob.

"It's for a history project-aru." Yao lied.

"Oh, so you think that just because we're Italian, we're all in the mob, huh?" Lovino snapped. He was in the library too, sitting beside Antonio.

"Calm down, Lovi." Antonio cooed. "It's a library; be quiet por favor."

"Actually, fratello probably knows more about the mob than I do." Feliciano said. "He was raised differently than I was and-" Feliciano was cutoff when his brother gave him a brutal head butt to the stomach.

"Shut the hell up! You don't know about me, dammit!" Lovino yelled. Antonio wrapped his arms around him and pulled him apart from his brother.

"Are you alright, Feliciano?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano nodded weakly and the two headed out, not wanting to cause any more trouble.

"Heeeey, Lovi. Why don't you tell Yao what you know? You can show her how badass you are!" Lovino looked up from his frustrated pout hopefully, seeing this as a chance to impress a girl.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But don't expect to get favors from me this easily." Lovino started. "The mob is really just made up of a bunch of families that are in the "business." A lot of the stuff that happens in the movies is over-dramatic, but basically the same types of crimes happen. There's all the gory stuff like kidnappings and murder… but it all comes down to money. That's why mob families either have huge-ass houses, or they're dirt-broke."

_Ivan has an enormous house, _Yao thought to himself.

"Anyways, I've noticed most of the dirty work is done by the men. Maybe it's just a stereotype from movies, but I guess they just don't like to get their hands dirty."

_That might explain why Ivan is always missing school, but Natalia and Katyusha have perfect attendance. _

"So… you interested in a mobster?" Lovino asked slyly, a grin on his face.

"What? No. Thanks for the offer-aru." Yao said, slipping the notes he had been writing away.

"Awwww, that's mean!" Antonio complained, hugging Lovino yet again. "Aren't I good enough for you?" Lovino glared and punched him.

"Don't hug me, dammit!" Lovino yelled, forcing himself apart from the Spaniard.

"Thank you for all the help-aru." Yao said. He got up and left the library as Lovino and Antonio continued their love-hate argument.

"Kidnapping…" Yao mumbled quietly. "Murder, too. I wonder if Ivan really does things like that-aru?" He remembered how Feliks had had said that Ivan was being nicer to Toris recently. "When I think about it… Toris did come to school with some suspicious-looking bruises-aru." He sat down in seventh block English and ended his thoughts so Ivan wouldn't hear him.

Halfway through a lesson, Yao noticed a small, crumpled up piece of paper land in front of him on the desk. He unraveled it and read its contents half-heartedly, well aware of where it came from.

_You want to ditch class and drink vodka? _Yao glared and quickly scrawled a reply and threw it back.

_No! Why would I want to do that? _

_Because we're friends. _Yao grimaced at the word. Being friends with Ivan was proving to be much more troublesome than beneficial.

_No thank you. Vodka is disgusting. _

_You've had it before? _

_Thanks to you I have. _

_Oh. That was fun, da? _

_I hate you so much. _Ivan was about to throw the paper again when the teacher noticed him.

"Mr. Braginski, would you like to read that to the class?" He sounded irritated. Ivan smirked and stood up.

"I love you too, my Yao-Yao." He read out loud. The class burst out laughing except for Yao. His face flushed to the color of blood, and he sank into his chair.

Luckily, the humiliation did not last long. Outside, large flakes of snow fell from the sky, and soon the students mobbed around the window; the hopes of a snow day on their lips. Yao remained seated, too embarrassed to move while Ivan stared at the whole ordeal with an unimpressed look. _He probably gets enough snow where he lives, _Yao thought. _I wonder what it must be like to be surrounded by snow all day… _Yao's thoughts eventually strayed to Ivan's bedroom. And how bland it was except for the ceiling. _I wonder what that's all about? _

He was again pulled from his thoughts as the paper landed in front of him. Besides the message of _I love you too, Yao-Yao_, there was a sketch of sunflower.

"Ivan can draw better than I thought-aru." Yao whispered to himself, admiring the drawing. _I like peonies better, _Yao wrote, adding a sketch of a peony beside it. The class was slowly filtering back to their seats, so Ivan stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket and smiled at the teacher as if he were an innocent angel.

* * *

A few days later after school, Yao joined his friends in having a snowball fight. By the tie time the match was over, everyone was coated in snow except for Matthew because no one ever seemed able to hit him. Everyone decided to go to the commons to relax and have some hot chocolate.

"So Yao-Yao," Gilbert taunted, "I heard Ivan loves you."

"Oh shut up-aru." Yao snapped. "It was a joke!"

"But you have been getting rather close to Braginski-san recently." Kiku commented. "I'm worried."

"Wait, you like Ivan?" Francis whined. "Mais! Everyone's supposed to like me!"

"No one likes you!" Almost everyone replied in unison.

"J'aime tu." Matthew mumbled, though Francis didn't seem to hear him.

"Speaking of which, does anyone know where that bloody wanker went?" Arthur questioned. He was referring to Alfred, whom he had been dating for awhile now. Apparently, "wanker" was a term of endearment he used when talking about the American.

"Now that you mention it, it has been rather quiet around here." Ludwig noted.

"Not that I mind. That guy can burn in hell for all I care." Lovino remarked.

"Awww, but Lovi," Antonio said, "You say that about everyone." He tried to hug Lovino, but got a punch in return.

"Ve~ what if he got kidnapped?" Feliciano questioned.

"Be logical." Ludwig replied. "Why would anyone want to kidnap him?"

"To shut him up?" Francis suggested.

"Makes sense." Kiku stated.

"Dudes! The hero is here!" Alfred screamed as he charged into the room. He seemed even more cocky than usual, which Yao thought was impossible.

"You seem rather proud of yourself." Arthur noted. "What did you do this time?"

"What? I was the hero, of course!" Alfred replied.

"Yeah, but what does that mean?"

"Well, I happened to find the janitor's keys outside when I was getting my coat and a certain commie bastard walked by, so I locked him in the storage building out back." Alfred beamed proudly while the others stared at him, too shocked to speak.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Arthur finally scolded.

"'Cause I hate that guy." Alfred replied simply.

"Good enough reason for me." Gilbert said.

"You better let him out." Francis insisted. "Or he'll _find _a way out and get you." Alfred thought about this for a moment and finally gave in.

"Alright, let's go." Alfred grumbled.

* * *

Everyone eventually agreed to go with him so Ivan would be less likely to beat him to death. The storage building was behind the campus and was incredibly small, with only a small window on the roof. Alfred pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, half-expecting Ivan to immediately jump out and murder him. To his surprise, nothing happened and the building was completely silent.

"Ivan? Dude, you here?" Alfred asked nervously.

"Anyone want to go inside and find him?" Francis asked.

"I'll do it-aru." Yao sighed. "He seems to be nice to me." He expected some of his friends to make a sly remark to this, but they were too nervous to do a thing.

"Be careful." Feliciano warned. Yao walked in and began to look at his surroundings. There were stacks of boxes everywhere packed with an assortment of textbooks, papers and other school supplies. After taking a few more steps, he heard a commotion behind him.

"Is everything alright out there-aru?" Yao asked.

"Dammit, Alfred! Don't push me! It's icy!" Arthur remarked.

"No it's not, you're just-" Alfred slipped and fell against the door, slamming it shut.

"You idiot!" Ludwig shouted.

"Where's the key?" Matthew asked frantically.

"Oh god, it fell down the gutter." Antonio sighed.

"Shit. Way to go, dick wad!" Lovino cursed.

"Yao, Ivan…" Feliciano began, "We're going to go find the janitor. We'll be back in a second, okay?" The sounds of the large group bickering slowly began to fade as they walked away.

"They're so dumb." Yao complained quietly. "Ivan… are you here-aru? He decided to walk towards the only source of light, which was the small window in the ceiling. He found Ivan underneath it, sitting against that wall and staring up at the outside world blankly.

"Oh, Ivan. There you are-aru." Yao said.

"Hello, Yao-Yao." Ivan replied without looking up. "Are you locked in here too?" Yao decided with little protest to sit beside him, knowing it was too cold to continue wandering around.

"Yeah. We were going to let you out, but Alfred lost the key and locked me in. What an idiot-aru." Yao shivered. "Why isn't this place heated?"

"I don't know." Ivan took off his coat and handed it to Yao. "Take it. I'm used to the cold." Yao took the still-warm jacket and buttoned it up. It was huge and went well past his ankles and wrists. It looked more like a dress on him than anything else.

"It's huge…" Yao complained. Ivan chuckled.

"You're tiny." He retorted.

"Thanks for the reminder-aru." Yao looked over at Ivan who was dressed in a white button-up shirt and blue, plaid pants. _He's smaller than I thought, _Yao noted silently. He could see the faint outline of ribs poking out beneath the baggy shirt.

"So, Ivan…" Yao began, attempting to create a conversation. "Why don't you ever take that scarf off?" Ivan slid his gloved hand up the length of the scarf and smiled sadly.

"It's my mother's scarf. It's the only thing she gave me before she left. I can't take it off."

"Oh, I'm so sorry-aru." Yao mumbled. _Way to bring up the worst subject, Yao, _he silently scolded. "So… how long do you think it'll take them to find the janitor?"

"Well, there's three janitors in the giant school and one of them is missing their keys… so probably an hour at least."

"Aiyaa…" Yao pulled the coat up over his nose to keep warm, but quickly pulled it back down. It reeked of vodka. Yao then realized that Ivan was sadder than usual and seemed unusually exhausted. His usually glowing eyes seemed dulled as he shut them and leaned against the wall.

"Are you okay?" Yao asked, poking him gently.

"Hm? Yeah. I probably won't be at school tomorrow."

"Why's that-aru?" Ivan opened his eyes and sighed.

"It's a long story."

"I have at least an hour, don't I?" Ivan stared back with a frown on his face, his eyes as cold and bleak as the weather outside.

"You can't tell anyone, da?" Yao nodded, and without another word, Ivan began to unbutton his shirt.

"Aiyaa! What the hell are you doing-aru?" Yao screamed. Ivan didn't reply, but continued unbuttoning until his chest was revealed. Yao couldn't help but look, his face a burning, bright red. Ivan's skin was pale-white, and there were small indents where his ribs were. If weren't so tall and didn't wear baggy clothing all day, people would think he were deathly frail. All over the pale skin were ugly bruises and scars that were both recent and new. There was one solitary scar that caught Yao's attention that was in the shape of a heart.

As soon as he had figured that Yao had gotten a good enough look, Ivan buttoned his shirt back up and pulled off his scarf. Underneath it, the skin was nearly untouched except for the deep, red marks that resembled fingers that had recently attempted to strangle him.

"I don't wear all of these layers because I'm cold." Ivan explained. "I wear them to hide things."

"What…" Yao gulped. "What happened to you?" Ivan sighed as he put the scarf back on.

"Where I'm from, it's kill or be killed." And without another moment's wait, Ivan began to relay a long, sad story to Yao.

* * *

_A/N: Hello! Sorry for the wait. I had a sleepover and I stayed up until 7:30 a.m. watching Hetalia, so... I didn't have much time to write. Also, I tried to add some funny parts in this chapter because from here, it's going to get angsty. Because it has to get angsty. ^_^ As usual, thanks for all of the favorites and reviews. _


	6. Heartless

**A/N: Sorry for the super late update! I'll explain later. Also, this is Ivan's POV and... *bangs head against wall* ANGST, ANGST, ANGST, ANGST.**

* * *

_"You're so cute, Ivan." I remember being told this so long ago… but I can't recall who said it to me. It could have been my mother, but it easily could've been Katyusha or the array of women that came to father's house. My mother left me just after I turned two, when father's mistress became pregnant with Natalia. She didn't leave by her choice. One day, father just told her that she wasn't needed anymore, for he had found another woman. He wouldn't let her keep me either, because he insisted that he absolutely needed a son. It's funny, he said the same thing to Katyusha's mother when he forced her to leave, only he made sure to give her an extra slap because she had given him a "useless daughter". Now all I have left from my mother is this scarf and an old, crumpled-up picture of her in high school._

_Eventually, Natalia was born. Of course, father made her mother leave too, but for awhile, we were a "happy family". I remember playing board games and eating dinners together. And though father was almost always at work, he would always come home with lots of gifts and hugs for all of us. But that all changed around the time I turned six… the time when he introduced me to the "family business"._

_"Ivan, would you like to come and work with me?" Father asked me one day. I nodded and jumped onto his lap as he typed away on his computer. "That's good to know. You're becoming a big boy, Ivan." He picked me up off of his laugh and put me on the ground, and knelt beside me. "For this job, I'll need a son that is smart, headstrong and persuasive. Think you can do that?"_

_"Of course, da!" I replied, beaming. Unfortunately, I was incapable of meeting any of his requirements._

_I found out that my father was the head of one of the most powerful families in the Russian mob, and as his only son, I would have to learn to take over after he's gone. I tried my hardest to do as instructed at his "work", but I could never satisfy his wishes. Whenever Nataila or Katyusha did something wrong, they'd get a single slap or get grounded, I, on the other hand, wasn't quite as fortunate. I would get beaten with bats and pipes like a helpless piñata, only because when I screwed up, I lost my father money. As time went by, and the jobs I got were more important, the "punishments" got worse and I was even denied of meals at times._

_"Have a nice day," my father told us, giving us each a pat on the head. Katyusha and I were off to school, Natalia staying home because she was still too young. Father allowed us to go to a fancy school, but of course we weren't allowed to breathe a word about what went on at home. But it didn't matter to me. School was a liberation, a time I could be free from the worries of home and for once actually enjoy myself. At school, I was very social and made lots of friends easily. But… that didn't last long._

_"Ivan, will you come into my office for a little bit?" Father asked one day after I had returned from school. I could tell by the fake smile on his face that something was wrong and that he'd probably take it out on me. I sighed and went in silently, knowing it was best to just get this over with._

_"Ivan, do you know of a boy in your class with the last name Von Bock?"_

_"You mean Eduard?" I knew him well, as was he one of the first people to become friends with me. "He's really smart, da!"_

_"I'm sure he is." Father replied, without the slightest bit of interest. It was the tone of voice he used when something was strictly business. "Anyways, his father has a debt to pay. He's been late on payments recently, and I thought you could… persuade him to pay."_

_"What do you mean?" I asked. I tired to say it naïvely, so he wouldn't notice how nervous I was. I had a hunch what he would want me to do._

_"Apparently beating Mr. Von Bock isn't enough to get his act together." He turned to look at me, his purple eyes glowing viciously… purple eyes that I inherited. "But maybe if his son got hurt…"_

_"What are you trying to say?"_

_"Oh come on, Ivan! No one's this stupid, not even you!" Father finally snapped. "I want you to beat up his kid!"_

_"Father…" I hated to go against what father said, because it only caused me pain. But I couldn't do that to one of my closest friends! "I can't do that! Eduard's my friend!" I saw my father's hand shoot towards me, and I shut my eyes to brace myself for the oncoming slap. It stung like it usually did, but I made sure to stand firm._

_"I don't recall giving you a choice, Ivan." Father said, raising his hand again. "Listen to what your father says."_

_"Father, I can't! Please, I can talk to him, I promise I will!"_

_"That's not good enough!" He swung his hand down again, but I was unprepared this time and fell to the floor. He stood over me like an angel of death taking their newest victim._

_"You don't talk back to me, you ungrateful child!" He kicked me in the ribs, causing me to gag. "Either hurt the kid, or I'll hurt you!" He stared back at me with his winter-cold glare, anticipating a response._

_"I refuse..." I stared back at him as bravely as cold, my expression as blank as the white snow that fell outside. Without another word, he rained blows upon me again and again, too many to count. After what felt like an eternity, my father stopped._

_"I'll tell you one more time, my disobedient child, do as I say!"_

_"…no…" That was it. He was so infuriated with my defiance that he didn't even talk to me any more. He just screamed and hit me like a wild animal. But I smiled. Soon I'd go numb and black out, and it'd be all over like it usually was when he went into an anger fit. But once again, I was wrong._

_In a fit of anger, my father broke the empty vodka bottle on his desk into a makeshift knife. I didn't have enough time to move, nor the strength to. Father forced the shard into my chest, ripping my shirt and coat in the process. Like an artist, he carved the shape of a heart onto my chest. He stopped and I whimpered as he dropped the shard to the floor._

_"Oh, shut up." Father said rather calmly. He smiled at me as he pulled his sleeve up, revealing a heart-shaped scar on his arm. "As the next leader of the Braginski family, you need to learn that having a heart is useless. Family, friends… they're all meaningless. Your sole purpose is to control others with an iron fist for your own benefit. You weren't meant to have a heart and to me… you're not even human."_

_I took his words to heart… or tried to, since I didn't have one. From that day forward, I no longer burdened my sisters by running to them when father hurt me. I no longer tried to make an more friends or even talk at school. I even did whatever father told me without a second thought. I beat up multiple people, including children my age or younger, and wasn't even fazed. The only person I ever showed any emotion towards was Natalia. She was young, and I didn't want her to have to face the evils of the world like I did. I doted upon her and gave her compliments and smiles whenever she passed. Bu in the end, my work turned to be more troublesome then my intention. She insisted that she loved me to death, and even attempted to join the family business just to get closer to me. That may explain why she's so violent all of the time._

_Even though I listened and did whatever I was told, my torment did not end. Because I technically wasn't human, I didn't deserve emotions. I was given a white room so that I had to live in bland nothingness._

_But… he couldn't keep me isolated forever. In school, I learnt of the beautiful landscapes of places all over the world that weren't covered in snow all year round. I even saw pictures of sunflowers… sunflowers, they're so beautiful. Without father's permission, I bought some paint from the store and painted my ceiling to look like a giant sunflower field. Of course, my dad beat me and denied me dinner that night, but he let me keep it the way it was, being too lazy to bother to paint it all back white._

_Someday, I will live somewhere that's warm and filled with sunflowers._

_However, the older I got, the harder that dream seemed to be obtainable. I have to do more and more work… I barely get to show up to school anymore. The crimes I am forced to commit are getting more and more heinous. And who knows how much longer it will be until I am forced to take a life…? _

* * *

As Ivan told his story, he spoke monotonously, his face barren of any emotion. He didn't even look at Yao; instead he had his eyes shut as if replaying every single memory in his mind. Yao gaped at him, horrified of the events he had just heard of.

"Yao…" Ivan mumbled after a short pause. "I'm sorry."

"Huh? For what-aru?" Yao asked.

"Remember that night awhile ago when I made you stay over at my house?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I lied. The trains were working that night and you could've gone home. I lied and made you stay because father isn't… mean to me when we have a guest."

"It's fine-aru." Yao smiled sadly at him. "I'm so… sorry."

"There's nothing you can do, da." Ivan finally opened his eyes and gazed at Yao. "It's too late for me."

"Don't say that!" Without thinking, Yao threw his arms around Ivan and squeezed tight. "I'm going to help you no matter what-aru!"

"Why?" Ivan asked, unwavering.

"Because we're friends! We help each other!" He buried his head deeper into Ivan's chest and smiled.

"What's so funny?" Ivan asked.

"Nothing. It's just that you have a heart beat-aru. You are human." With that, Yao could feel the Russian's large arms wrap around his tiny body. He looked up at Ivan, his purple eyes deluded with tears.

"You really are my friend, da…" Ivan mumbled. They continued their embrace for a few more moments Alfred and the others returned with the keys. Yao offered to return the coat to Ivan, but he refused, saying with a fake smile that it looked cute on him.

"Whoa! Why are you wearing Ivan's coat?" Alfred shouted.

"Zut alors! You two didn't-" Francis was smacked by Arthur before he could finish his sentence.

"Of course not, you git!" Arthur scolded. "Not everyone is horny all the time like you!"

"Ve~ You look cute in that, Yao!" Feliciano cooed.

"Damn, you're short." Gilbert commented.

The group of friends chatted happily as Ivan silently wandered away. Yao barely talked with the others, being far too busy trying to think of a way to help Ivan. But how? He had very little knowledge of gangs, but he knew that if he interfered too much, he could be risking his life.

_But how much longer, _Yao wondered, _could Ivan possibly survive in conditions like that? I have to help him… before it's too late… _

* * *

_A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update! I usually write on the weekends, but last weekend while I was making sushi for four hours straight (long story) I caught a cold. It slowly got worse and I still kind of feel like crap, and I was waaaaaaaaaay too lazy to get up off my couch and write. Anyways... thanks for the reviews and faves as usual and... PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! If it's any consolation, I felt terrible after writing this. Anyways, Ivan's father will get what he had coming to him. OR WILL HE? *shot* Also, Eduard is Estonia, for those of you who don't know. He be a plot device. :)_


	7. A Promise

**A/N: Short chapter is short. Why? Because the next chapter is going to be tediously long. **

* * *

As he had promised, Ivan didn't show up to school the next day or the day afterwards. He eventually showed up four days later, but Yao felt like he was having a heart attack every time Ivan's seat remained unoccupied in class. Ivan continued to wear baggy clothes to cover up what happened at home during "work". Yao always threw him troubled looks when they passed in the hallway, but he would simply reply with a daunting smile as if silently warning Yao not to tell anyone. As the weeks passed, the stress and worry was slowly digging away at Yao, and he wasn't sure how much he, or Ivan for that matter, could take.

"Nii-san, what's wrong?" Kiku asked one day, while Yao was absent-mindedly flipping through some books. Yao could tell Kiku was worried about him, otherwise he wouldn't have called him 'nii-san'.

"Huh? Nothing." Yao replied with little emotion.

"I'm very good at sensing the mood." Kiku continued, "Something has been troubling you."

"It's none of your concern-aru." Yao stated.

"Is is Braginski-san?" Kiku questioned.

"Of course not! What makes you think that-aru?" Kiku did not reply, but gave him the same uncaring expression he always wore.

"Do you like him?" He finally asked after a brief pause. Yao could feel his face turn red in an instant.

"O-of course not-aru! He's my friend, that's it!"

"Uh-huh." Kiku stared at him listlessly. "What's with all of the books?" Kiku asked, gesturing to the pile of books that lay around Yao.

"I like to read-aru."

"Books about the mafia and organized crime?"

"It's an interesting subject-aru!"

"Yao…" Kiku sat down beside him, an uncharacteristically dark frown on his face. "Stay away from Braginski-san, please. I know you're reading these books because of him, and I'm worried that you might get… hurt."

"Kiku…" Yao sighed. "You're so much smarter than people give you credit for, and that's saying something-aru." Yap ruffled his hair and smiled, then got up and put his coat on.

"Where are you going?" Kiku asked.

"To run a little errand. I might be back late-aru." But before Kiku could say a thing, Yong Soo came into the room glomping him. Yao chuckled at his brothers and silently shut the door before he was noticed.

* * *

_In the mafia books, it said that leader of gangs often paid authorities money to keep quiet and leave them alone, so it was no use asking the principal for help_, Yao figured as he headed away from campus. _Maybe if I can find some sort of evidence of crime in the Braginski's house, I can sabotage him… _Yao couldn't think of any other ideas, and he knew with his small frame and ninja reflexes, he could easily break in to the Braginski house.

After purchasing a ticket for a train and getting aboard, Yao called Alfred. Normally he'd text him, but seeing his annoying abbreviations wasn't something he needed right now.

"Hello?" Alfred answered after two rings.

"Ni-hao, it's me-aru." Yao greeted.

"Oh dude, it's Yao!" Alfred exclaimed. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. It's just… remember when you beat me up-aru?"

"Y-yeah… but I said sorry…" His voice darkened significantly at this.

"No, it's fine, it's fine. But you said that if I needed anything, I just had to ask you. Can you do me a favor-aru?"

"Whatever you want, dude."

"Great. I'm heading to this address: 565565, зимой Avenue. Copy that-aru." Yao added, knowing that the incompetent American would forget otherwise.

"The name sounds funny. Where is this?"

"It's in Russia." The line was silent, so Yao continued. "Look, if I don't call or text you before eight o' clock tomorrow, then that means something's happened to me. If so… I need you to come over-aru."

"Wait, what's this all about? You're freaking me out!"

"You'll learn eventually-aru." Yao sighed. "See you later, Alfred."

"Wait, Yao-" But he was cut off by Yao hanging up the phone. _I'll be back, _Yao reassured himself, _I'll be the hero so Alfred doesn't have to. _Yao gazed out the window and noticed the snow-covered landscaped fade into a howling blizzard.

"Ivan, I'll get you out of this hell-aru." Yao muttered to himself. "That's a promise."

* * *

After the train arrived, Yao hailed a taxi and had it stop a few blocks away from the Braginski house so he wouldn't cause any suspicion. It was well past sundown when Yao reached the Braginski house. Nearly all of the lights were off, and the house seemed to emit an ominous glow with the sparkling snow all around it. Yao carefully tiptoed through the snow to the house, barely leaving a mark in the perfect sheet of white all around him. He looked up and noticed an open window on the third floor, so he quickly ascended the side of the building using the protruding bricks as grips. He hopped into the room and made sure to wipe his shoes as to not leave a trace of his entry. _I guess I should look for Ivan's father's office, _Yao thought. _It would probably be on the first floor, I think. _He headed out the door and down the hall silently. _Where are the stairs? This place is huge! _

That's when he heard footsteps approaching. He quietly ducked into an open room with the lights out. He observed the oncoming figure to figure out who it was. The person was to short to be Ivan, his father, or Katyusha, and his hair was too short to be Natalia's. Finally, Yao could clearly make out who it was. He recognized the shoulder-length bright-brown hair, the worried green eyes and the thin frame. It was Toris Lorinaitis. _What is he doing here, _Yao wondered. _He's nice; maybe he will help me. _Yao quietly covered Toris's mouth and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Ah! Mr. Braginski, please don't hit me!" Toris shouted as soon as he was released. "I'm cleaning the house just like your father said, and- oh… it's you, Miss Yao." He let out a sigh of relief.

"Toris, are you alright-aru?" Yao could see Toris's body tremble noticeably as he spoke.

"I-it's nothing." Toris replied nervously.

"Fine. Toris, can you tell me where Mr. Braginski's office is?"

"Why do you need to know that, Miss Yao?"

"I need to find… some documents… about crime." Yao said no more, because Toris's pale face proved that he knew what Yao was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Toris finally mumbled, raising his hand to scratch his neck. Yao noticed a dark bruise near his hand.

"Did Ivan do that to you-aru?"

"Y-yes…" Toris replied hesitantly, looking away. "But… I can tell by the look in his eyes that he really doesn't want to hit me…" Without another word, Yao pulled him into a tight hug.

"Toris. Please tell me where they are. If I can find one way to prove what Mr. Braginski has been doing to Ivan… what he's been doing to you, I can help you both out of this-aru." Toris shook uncontrollably, but smiled as Yao released him from his arms.

"Alright, his office is on the first floor to the right. I can't read any of his papers because they're all in Russian, but maybe you can. I'll try to cover for you."

"Thanks, Toris." Yao said as he headed out the door.

"…good luck, Miss Yao…" Toris whispered behind him.

* * *

Yao slinked down the vast, dark hallways as swiftly and quietly as he could. He knew that if he got caught, he would surely get killed. He eventually got to Mr. Braginski's office on the first floor. It was a large, dark room, the walls painted an uninteresting dark gray. In the middle of the room there was an ornate wooden desk with a computer and a lamp on it, and behind that there was a filing cabinet. _I guess I'll try there, _Yao decided. He pulled a hair pin from his ponytail and nimbly picked the lock on the drawers. He pulled out the nearest file, and read the label.

"ха-ха это участок устройства" Yao sighed. "Aiyaa… I'll have to figure out what it says later-aru." He quickly tucked the file under his shirt and left the office. He checked his phone, which read 1:32 a.m. _If I leave soon enough, I can get back to the dorm before six… _Yao contemplated as he ran down the hall. He stopped as he reached the stairs. _Maybe… I can visit Ivan really quick. I've got time. _He quickened his pace and ran up the stairs towards Ivan's room.

When he got there, Yao slowly slid the door open and squinted at the bright white of the room. The windows were wide open and the white snow outside seemed to make the room even brighter. Nothing had changed for the most part since the last time he had been here, except for the ceiling. The beautiful sunflower field now had peonies painted with this, the bright pink color making the painting look even happier. _Did he add that because of me? _Yao questioned wordlessly. He shook his head. _That doesn't matter. _He turned to the sleeping figure on the bed and tiptoed towards it. _How can he sleep with all of this light? _

"Ivan, I promise to get you out of here-aru." Yao whispered. He placed his hand on the sheets, and could feel them shake beneath him. "Ivan?" Yao pulled off the sheets only to find Toris, tied up and gagged, staring back at him with worried, tearful eyes. "Toris? What happened to you-aru?" Yao shouted. He hurriedly began to untie him, but was interrupted as someone behind him forced a rag against his face. In moments, the world around him went black.

* * *

_A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNN! CLIFFHANGER! ...again. Like I said at the top, this chapter is very very short because the next one will probably be pretty long. I hope you don't mind. It also doesn't help that I'm super duper busy with finals! *dies* ONE WEEK LEFT! I'LL MAKE IT! ...maybe. I want to thank everyone for the faves and reviews, and I also want you to know that the document that Yao took literally says "Ha ha, this is a plot device." in Russian because I couldn't think of anything else to call it. Also, I love Lithuania, so I feel pretty bad for being mean to him. Poor guy. Anyways, congrats to everyone who survived the (supposed) judgement day! :D _


	8. Initiation

**A/N: ...I'm just going to say sorry in advance. **

* * *

Yao opened his eyes groggily and felt heavy all over. He wasn't sure where he was; the room was cold and dark, the walls and floor made of concrete. He attempted to move, but found instead that his arms were tied to the wall behind him.

"Father!" Natalia cried from somewhere in the dark. "She's finally awake!" She eventually stepped into view, and she glared at Yao as she usually did. _She must of done this, _Yao figured. Ivan's father finally showed up, looking even more intimidating than the last time Yao saw him.

"Where is Ivan-aru?" Yao asked before Mr. Braginski could even get a word out. Instead of replying, the Russian smiled back with the same daunting violet eyes that Ivan possessed.

"I don't think you're in the position to be asking questions, Miss. But he should be home in a little while. Hopefully he'll come back before I'm done with you."

"What… what are you planning-aru?" Yao said with a shudder.

"You'll see in good time." He frowned and began pacing in front of him. "Now what have you done with the papers you took?" Yao glared back and said nothing. "If you won't tell me, then I'll just beat it out of _him._" He gestured to his right, where Toris lay, passed out and covered in bruises and blood.

"Tolris!" Yao cried. "What did you do to him-aru?"

"He was acting suspicious, so I got him to squeal." Natalia said, cracking her knuckles. "He got an extra one for not telling us in the first place that you broke in."

"But Toris… Toris didn't do anything-aru!"

"Life is cruel sometimes kid," Mr. Braginski said, obviously becoming less and less patient. "Now where is the file you took?"

"It's… under my shirt. Just don't hurt Toris anymore, please…"

"Natalia, go get it." Natalia nodded and pulled our her dagger. Swiftly, she slit open his shirt and pulled the papers out. She took one final glance at Yao's chest and gaped.

"You're… a boy?" She asked, both angry and shocked. She threw her hands at Yao's throat and squeezed tight. "How dare you lie to big brother!"

"Natalia, stop it!" Mr. Braginski made sure to pull her off of Yao just before he was about to pass out. He looked at Yao's chest to verify what Natalia had said and smirked. "This could work to our advantage."

"What do you want-aru? You got your files back, so just let me go." Yao said, blushing.

"Oh, we're not letting you off the hook that easily." Mr. Braginski walked forward and grabbed Yao's chin, forcing him to look Mr. Braginski's in the eyes. His hands were cold as ice and made Yao wince. "Normally I'd kill you the moment I got my hands on you, but you're different."

"How so-aru?" Yao asked, struggling to stay calm.

"Because you're his friend. You're the final step of his initiation."

"Initiation for what-aru?"

"For the family business, of course. Something that _no one _else was supposed to know about. Too bad that dip-shit Ivan had to let it out… he'll pay for that later."

"Leave him alone-aru!" Without any hesitation, Mr. Braginski smacked Yao across the face, leaving a red, stinging mark on his pale cheek.

"You can take it for him if you like, but I don't know how long you'd last; you're tiny."

"Get bent-aru." Yao received another smack for this, only it was harder and caused blood to trickle down his lips.

"As I was saying, when he gets into the business, that's when he'll start doing the _real _work. Up until now has just been a prelude to what real life is like in the mob."

"What is the initiation-aru?" Yao asked.

"You'll find out soon enough. But if you must know," he leaned down closer and whispered into his ear. "It's the execution of someone you care about. Think about it: in this profession, anyone can betray you at anytime, and that includes friends and family. By doing this, you can assure that no matter the circumstance, you will continue to fend for yourself and do what's best for the majority. I actually had to kill my first wife… Katyusha's mother."

Yao froze, too scared to speak._ Ivan's going to be forced to kill me, _he thought in horror. _How… Ivan couldn't do it, right? No matter how intimidating his father is, Ivan would never sink to that level. He was strong. _

"You… you won't succeed-aru." Yao glared at Mr. Braginski and Natalia, using all of his courage.

"What did you say, boy?" Mr. Braginski questioned.

"You heard me-aru. It doesn't matter what you do, Ivan will never become a sick, twisted person like you. Unlike you, Ivan has morals and feelings-aru. You're as cold and emotionless as the winter. If you can even get Ivan to touch me, fine. But he will never sink to your level. You're _scum-aru." _

"_Shut the hell up!" _Mr. Braginski pulled out a water pipe and beat Yao with it a few times, leaving him with bruises and coughing up blood. Natalia watched silently and emotionlessly, so Yao glared at her.

"I'm most disappointed in _you, _Natalia. You keep claming that you love your brother, but if that's the case, why do you continuously and knowingly keep hurting him-aru? Don't you see what you're doing to him? The reason he's so depressed is because of this "work" and this family, if you can even call it that. So how the hell can you advocate that-aru? How can you expect him to love you if all you do is causing him more pain?" Yao expected to receive a fatal stab from Natalia, but all she did was pale and glare. "Natalia. I'm not your enemy-aru. The real person that's hurting Ivan is-" But he was cut off by Mr. Braginski swinging the pipe down on him again. This time it hit him in the head, and the resulting noise was unpleasant enough to make Natalia flinch.

"Stupid… boy…" Mr. Braginski muttered as a small stream of blood began to flow down Yao's slumped head. He checked Yao's pulse and turned to Natalia. "Go get Ivan! And hurry; I can't be the one who killed him."

"Y-yes father." Natalia rushed out, pale and shaken by what she had seen.

* * *

Natalia hurried up the stairs to her bother's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Ivan replied rather cheerfully. She opened the door to find Ivan standing at the top of a tall ladder, with a paintbrush in hand.

"B…big brother…" Natalia began nervously.

"Oh, it's you, Natalia." Ivan replied without looking away from his painting. "Usually you just barge in without warning. What did you need?"

"I…well… father needs you in the basement." Natalia finally said.

"Can it wait?" Ivan said, his voice becoming darker. "I'm on the finishing touches of these peonies."

"Why are you painting peonies?" Natalia questioned. Ivan smiled.

"They're Yao-Yao's favorite flower. I can't wait to show him, da!"

"Well, how about you just get the thing with father over with?"

"Fine…" Ivan came down the ladder and headed towards the door, not noticing Natalia stare sadly at the Peonies that would never get admired.

"So… what's this all about?" Ivan asked as soon as Natalia caught up to him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's not that… you'll see in a minute." She replied emotionlessly.

"Natalia, what's with you?" Ivan questioned, stopping and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're being so quiet… what's with you?"

"Brother…" She began to tremble beneath his grip. "No matter what happens, promise you won't hate me."

"Natalia…" Ivan said, in awe of her strangely meek attitude. "You're my sister; I could never hate you, da! I will never love you like a girlfriend, but you'll always be my cute little sister." Natalia blushed at this and tugged on Ivan's baggy coat sleeve. Ivan smiled and let her do it as they walked down the hall.

When Ivan and Natalia reached the door to the basement, he braced himself for another beating. He wasn't sure w hat his father would want of him in the basement, but it probably wasn't good. He normally got his beatings wherever his father was, be it his office, the kitchen, or even a bedroom… but he had never been called somewhere to get hurt. _What could this be about,_ Ivan wondered. With a sigh, he swung open the door, and found his father smirk back at him. Natalia gasped audibly and took a step back.

"Oh. Hi father." Ivan said. "What did you want from me?" His father took his hand and continued smiling suspiciously.

"It's time for your initiation, Ivan." He responded.

"Initiation for what?"

"For becoming the heir to the family and for officially joining the family business. You are the eldest son, after all."

"But father, that's sexist." Ivan smiled childishly. "Katyusha's the oldest, da."

"It doesn't matter. Just hurry up, will you?" He made way for Ivan to get down the stairs and dragged Natalia with him. The first thing Ivan saw was the bloodied Toris, who remained unconscious on the floor.

"Father, what did Toris do?" Ivan asked.

"He lied to us about an intruder in the house." He gestured to the back wall, where Yao was tied. His head was slumped over, with profuse amounts of blood streaming down.

"Who… is that?" Ivan asked, for Yao's face was hidden. He walked to Yao and pulled his face up, then brushed the hair out of the way so he could see.

He screamed Yao's name and, without a second thought, pulled off his scarf and pressed it against Yao's head, attempting to stop the bleeding. He dropped to his knees and put his hand against Yao's neck, desperately searching for a pulse. He could barely feel any movement beneath his fingers.

"Yao… Yao…" He muttered, taking a closer look at his face. His eyes were shut and there was a bruise on both sides of his face. His mouth was open a little, and blood dribbled down his lips. He attempted to wipe some of the blood off of his face, but recoiled at how cold Yao's skin was.

"Ivan." Mr. Braginski began. He was interrupted by Ivan grabbing him violently by the collar.

"What the hell did you do to Yao?" Ivan screamed.

"Oh, shut up!" Mr. Braginski hit Ivan in the stomach with his blood-coated pipe and sent him to the ground. "I made sure not to kill him. That's your job."

"What… what do you mean?" Ivan asked, his violet eyes wide with worry and fear.

"You do it. I want you to kill Yao."

"But why? She didn't-"

"Ivan, take a good look at Yao." Mr. Braginski gestured to Yao and his revealed chest. "Your precious 'Yao-Yao' is a boy." He gripped Ivan's shoulders firmly and smiled. "Think about it this way: Yao has betrayed you. He's been lying to you ever since you met. You'll learn that when you're in the family business, anyone can betray you… even those who are closest to you." He pulled a gun from his coat pocket and handed it to Ivan. "This is your initation. You must kill someone close to you. Don't worry Ivan, I had to do the same thing."

Ivan stared at the cold, metal gun in his hands, too scared to think or speak. He knew deep down inside that someday he would forced to take a life, but he never thought it would be Yao. _I can't kill Yao, _he thought, _Yao's the only friend I have. He's the sole person who's cared for me without any obligation. He talked with me, made food for me, hugged me and even tried to save me… That must be why he's here. To rescue me. _

"Think of it logically," Mr. Braginski said, ripping Ivan from his thoughts. "You're just putting him out of his misery. That head injury isn't very pretty, and bleeding to death can't be all that grand either. Ivan, just get it over with…"

Ivan shakily lifted the gun to the top of Yao's head and tried to keep it in place. He could feel a few tears running down his cheeks, but for the first time ever, he didn't care. It was like beating up Eduard again, the same emotions of sorrow and agony running through him as he ruined another's life.

"Father… please, I can't kill Yao. I'll kill somebody, anybody else! But not Yao.."

"That ruins the purpose, Ivan. Lat time I checked, you didn't care for anyone as much as you care about him. He's the only thing in your way of having a happy life. You and I can start over once you officially join the business. I promise to never strike you again." He clutched Ivan's hand. "I love you son. You know that."

Those were the simple words Ivan had been longing to hear his entire life. He couldn't remember how long he had dreamt of being told that he was loved, especially by his father. He had always assumed that he was the black sheep of the family, and no matter what he did he would always be worthy enough to receive his father's love. But now…

He tightened his grip on the trigger. Behind him, Natalia closed her eyes and buried her hands in her pockets. Mr. Braginski smirked, his violet eyes glowing with anticipation. Ivan shut his eyes as the sound of a gun shot and metal flying through the air resonated against the walls.

* * *

_A/N: Guess who just left you with another cliffhanger? *shot* Sorry about that. You're gonna have to wait a week until the next update. Hee. ^_^ On a different matter, who's freaking ready for summer? I know I am! Thank grandpa Rome school's almost over. Anyways, thanks for all of the faves and reviews. Also, just a fair warning, this story is getting close to it's end. Just thought you should know. But that doesn't mean I'm done with fanfiction. I'm just getting started. *insert rape face here*_


	9. Freedom

**A/N: Sorry for the late update aru! . YAY FOR SOAP OPERA STEREOTYPES! **

* * *

Ivan turned with a start, his hands still gripping the gun loosely enough for it not to go off. Behind him, his father had turned pale; those once daunting eyes now wide with shock and terror. He begin to stumble closer, and he grabbed Ivan's wrist firmly.

"Ivan…" Mr. Braginski gasped, blood trickling out of his mouth. He then collapsed forward, Ivan narrowly avoiding him. There were two spots on his back where blood was seeping through the clothes. One was a small bullet hole, the other had Natalia's blade sticking out. Behind him, Natalia had her arm stretched out after throwing her knife, her face pale but not solemn. She was also confused as to where the bullet hole had come from, and she and Ivan turned to see who had done it. Standing at the doorway was the solitary figure of Alfred, gun in hand and wearing an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

"I'm not late, am I?" Alfred said, lowering his gun. He walked over to Ivan and glared. "What the hell did you do to Yao, Ivan?"

"Alfred… why are you here?" Ivan asked, dropping his gun. It hit the concrete floor with a clatter and skidded over to where Yao sat, bloody and tied to the wall. Alfred finally saw him and gasped.

"You bastard! You were going to kill her!" Alfred ran up to Yao and untied him, too worried to even notice he was a boy.

"Let me take him to the hospital, da?" Ivan pushed Alfred out of the way and lifted Yao into his arm, gently cradling him so his injuries were cushioned against Ivan's baggy clothes.

"Hey! Talk to me, dick wad!" Alfred cursed. He was ready to strike Ivan when he felt an ice cold hand rest upon his arm.

"Big brother knows what he's doing." Natalia stated. "Just help him." Alfred knew that if Natalia wasn't attacking or threatening him, then this must be serious.

"Okay." He nodded and followed Ivan out of the basement as Natalia strayed behind. She knelt down beside Mr. Braginski's body and shut his eyes.

"I hope brother forgives me for murdering you, dear father." Natalia muttered. "But for you, it's far too late. I hope you enjoy yourself in hell." She heard a moan behind her and jumped, only to find it was Toris, still unconscious behind her. "I had forgotten about you." She stared at the anguish in his face and sighed. "I owe you an apology." She lifted the thin boy in her arms and smiled. She was stronger than people gave her credit for, and that was a trait she had always loved; because she knew that maybe someday it would help her gain her brother's attention. "It's never going to happen." She shook her head. "Not with Yao there." Without another word, she carried Toris to the guest room to rest.

* * *

The next couple of hours went by in a blur for Ivan. He remembered Yao getting pulled away on a stretcher to the emergency by a bunch of frantic-looking doctors, but he couldn't remember driving to the hospital. After going to multiple doctors and nurses, begging to see Yao, he eventually found himself forcibly cooped up in a waiting room alone with Alfred. They sat for a couple minutes in an awkward silence when Ivan finally couldn't take the strained silence anymore.

"Alfred… why did you come to my house?" Ivan asked.

"Yao told me to." Alfred put down the magazine he was carelessly flipping through and sighed. "Yao called me last night and told me where she… no wait, it's he, isn't it? Anyways, he told me where he was going and then said that if he didn't call back by eight o' clock, something had happened to him. It really freaked me out, and he never called… so I brought Arthur, Kiku, Francis and Matthew along. Since your house is friggin' huge, we all split up. I just happened to find you first."

"Oh… so where's everyone else?" Ivan questioned.

"Well, Matthew called and said that he and Francis are at your house. They called the police, and they'll probably be there soon. Arthur's at school with Kiku explaining what's up with all of our absences."

"Calling the police… I wonder how that will go over, da?" Ivan mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"My father is very… close to the police force. That's why he never got caught."

"Dude… what were you about to do when I showed up? Were you really gonna kill Yao?"

"You were going to find out sooner or later, da?" Ivan sighed. "My father was the head of a pretty big Russian mob and-"

"Is that like one of those bad-ass gangsters in movies?" Alfred interrupted.

"…I guess that's what you'd call it." I van replied, irritated. "Anyways, he wanted to make me become a proper heir to the family and… to do that I had to kill Yao. It's… complicated."

"Fine, you don't have to tell me everything. But you can at least tell me this: were you really gonna kill Yao?"

"Well… I was thinking about it. Yao looked like he was in so much pain, and I wanted to help him. I also knew that if I didn't kill him, father probably would take care of it anyways. But then father told me to "kill the only person in my way" the I could have a "happy" life. That's when I realized that the only reason I didn't have a happy life was because of me. I wasn't good enough for father's expectations, and that's why he beat me. It was because of how I acted that I had no friends and that everyone was afraid of me. Everything was… my fault, really."

"Dude… what are you saying?"

"I was… thinking of taking my own life. I've honestly been thinking about it for awhile now. But… I realized that if I gave up my own life, I would never get it back… and what would all of the pain and strife I've gone through come to? Yao helped me realize that some people can care about others without being obligated to. And I know that Katyusha and Natalia love me to death… I guess what I'm saying is that it's good to have a friend."

"Ivan, dude, I'm sorry…" He awkwardly placed his hand on the Russian's shoulder. "I didn't know… if I had, I wouldn't have been so-"

"It's fine. I'm used to being ostracized. It's okay." Alfred let go and stared at the ceiling quietly, attempting to think of something else to talk about.

"So… do you like Yao?" He finally asked.

"Of course, da. He's my friend!"

"No, do you _like, _like him?"

"Oh…" A slight tint of pink appeared on his usually pale cheeks. "Yes I do, even if he is a boy."

"Hmmm, okay. Just wonderin'."

"Are you two here for Mr. Wang?" A petite nurse walked in holding a clip board, her frizzy hair sliding out of her ponytail. The two nodded, so she continued with a heavy sigh. "You're lucky you brought him in when you did. He's lucky to be alive with all of that blood loss. We need time for the wound to heal, so he can't be active for awhile. He is now in a drug-induced coma, and probably won't be up for the next couple of days at the very least. However, his condition is very stable."

Ivan breathed out a sigh of relief; he had thought it would be so much worse than that. He had even feared that maybe Yao would die. Beside him, Alfred stood up and smiled.

"Sweet. Can we see him?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, but there's… it would be more convenient if you went one at a time… I don't want anything happening to him." She threw Ivan a suspicious look, which he ignored.

"That works." Alfred headed towards the door, a cocky grin on his face. "You go ahead, Ivan."

"Okay… but where are you going, Alfred?" Ivan asked, standing up.

"To have a talk with Natalia. I can't just leave a lady with all of the crime; that's not what a gentleman would do."

"Since when did you care about being a gentleman?" Ivan chuckled.

"Ever since I started dating Arthur…" Alfred blushed. "I meant to say hero!" He stormed out of the room. Without questioning Ivan about what they had been talking about, the nurse showed him to Yao's room.

* * *

Ivan entered the room quietly, without uttering a word to the nurse. She opened the door for him, then left with a nod. The room was almost identical to the infirmary at the school, only more complex. The walls were a pale blue with fake-looking rip-offs of fancy paintings spread about them. On the ceiling were annoyingly bright florescent lights that radiated onto Yao's face. Ivan switched off the lights and sighed.

"If they're going to make you sleep, they might as well make it a little more comfortable." Ivan muttered. Yao didn't respond; but he didn't expect him to. Yao lay asleep in the bed, his ebony hair tied back oddly to make room for the casts and bandages on his head. Both of his arms were on top of the sheets with IV's in them. There were various other tubes and wires that connected to his chest, connecting him to the steady beat of the heart monitor. Ivan silently stroked Yao's pale face, making sure to avoid the bruises his father had left on it. Ivan couldn't help but touch him; he was so cute.

"I'm so sorry, Yao-Yao." Ivan muttered. "I didn't want you to get hurt. Why… you didn't have to help me. And I don't expect you to forgive me after this. It was my carelessness that led to this, da." Yao winced beneath his touch. "Oh! Sorry. Did I touch your bruise?" Ivan pulled his hand away, and for the first time got a good look at it. A majority of the time he wore gloves, mostly to cover up some of the scars and missing nails he had gotten as punishment from time to time. "Huh… did they always look like that?" Ivan asked himself. His fingers were as white as paper, and thin as a skeleton's. The nails that had been pulled off on his index and middle finger were beginning to grow back, but they looked lumpy and disgusting. There was a solitary line on his palm from a cut he had gotten about a year ago which still hadn't gone away.

"At least I don't have to worry about getting any more scars." Ivan said. That's when a sudden thought hit him, and he beamed. "I don't have to worry about getting beaten! Or about being starved… I'm…" For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he felt light; as if a giant weight had been pulled off him. He stood up and giggled like a child, and, for the first time ever, didn't care who heard. He opened the window and stared outside. It was a snowy day, as usual; but for once, Ivan saw light in the snow instead of it's usual dreariness.

"I'm… free…"

* * *

_A/N: Cheesy chapter is cheesy. Anyways, the reason this took so long to upload is this: 1, it's summer, and I've been partying; and 2, I changed so much of this chapter, it isn't funny. I noticed that a majority of the reviews said "OMG, He turned and shot his dad, right?" That was what was originally going to happen... but that's too obvious! I had to switch it up for you people! Yeah... anyways, thanks for the reviews and faves! Also, for the record, I made a vague allusion to higurashi no naku koro ni, because that is one of my favorite animes of all time! And I love LietxPoland, but BelarusXLiet is also incredibly cute. This story is actually getting close to its end... I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far though. ^_^ _


	10. Final Chapter: A Bright Summer

**A/N: Last chapter. Cheese is delicious, no? **

* * *

Yao opened his eyes and squinted in the light that rained upon him. The world around him remained blurry for a few seconds as he tried to shake the sleep out of him. Normally, he would get up and close the curtains, or whatever the source of light was, and go back to sleep, but his body wouldn't move. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his arm. He craned his neck and saw what the problem was: an IV was piercing his arm, and he had just scraped it out, causing a thin, red line of blood to flow onto the sheets.

"Where…" Yao began. His voice came out as a hoarse whisper at best, and his throat felt dry, as if he hadn't had a drink in weeks. _Oh… I'm in the hospital, _Yao realized after studying his surroundings. _How did I… _"Ivan-aru!" Yao sat up with a start, only causing more pain to his head and back. "Aiya…" He fell back into the pillows and sighed. _That was stupid. And if I'm in the hospital, that means… I failed. _He could feel tears welling up behind his eyes, and he closed them to make sure they didn't fall. _If I'm here in this bad of a state… who knows what happened to Ivan… _

"I'm a failure-aru…" The tears began to trickle down his face. _If it hadn't been for my mistake he might've- _

"Yao-yao…" A voice ripped him from his thoughts. He turned to the origin and saw Ivan asleep in a chair a couple feet away. Yao breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled. From what he could see, there were no new scars or bruises on his body. Somehow, Ivan must've rescued Yao from his father… without getting either of them killed. Yao rolled back over so he was facing the ceiling and shut his eyes. _I shouldn't wake him, _Yao thought.

"Yao?" Ivan asked. He got up and walked towards the bed. "Are you awake?"

"Yes…" Yao muttered back hesitantly.

"Thank goodness. We were all so worried, and-" Ivan wiped the tears from Yao's face and smiled. "Why are you crying, Yao-Yao?"

"Oh… I…" Yao coughed harshly, and Ivan shook his head.

"You don't have to talk if you can't. Here's some water, da." Yao shakily grasped the cup and drank the water down in an instant.

"H-how long have I been out-aru?" Yao finally asked.

"Five days." Ivan replied solemnly. "Everyone's really worried."

"Five days-aru? Do Kiku and Yong Soo know I'm here? What about-"

"They all know you're here, and they even got you gifts." Ivan smiled. "Want to see them?" Yao nodded, knowing he needed something to calm him down. "Feliciano and Lovino got you a bouquet of daisies! Then Gilbert and Ludwig wrote you a long letter… but it's in German and I can't read it… Francis gave you chocolates, Arthur a book, Antonio some tomatoes… for some reason. Alfred gave you some flowers and balloons and that one guy who's name I can't remember gave you a teddy bear."

"All of this… for me?" Yao felt overwhelmed by the amount of gifts he had received, some of which were falling off the bedside table.

"Of course, da! You're our friend!" Ivan patted his head, but Yao recoiled. "What's wrong?"

"You guys… aren't you mad about what I did? I pretended to be a girl, and…" Ivan grabbed Yao as gently as he could by the shoulders and pulled him into a soft kiss. Yao was too tired and weak to push him away this time, so he just closed his eyes and could feel his cheeks flushing. Ivan pulled away with a small smile on his face.

"Girl or boy, I…" He blushed. "I love you, Yao." Yao stared into Ivan's lavender eyes, simply having no other place to look. Those once creepy, threatening purple eyes seemed soft and comforting. Yao didn't know what to say to that; he had never been told he was loved by someone other than a family member. He suddenly felt dizzy, and he could hear from the heart monitor behind him that his heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Ivan…" At that moment, the door burst open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang.

"Be quiet, idiot!" Arthur scolded. "You don't want to wake him up!"

"I can't wake him up, dude! He's in a-" Alfred stopped when he noticed Yao sitting up in his bed. "Oh… you're awake."

"Parce que a tu!" Francis yelled.

"Sorry, dude. I don't speak gay." Alfred smirked.

"My language isn't gay!"

"Sorry, but es true." Antonio remarked.

"Well… euh… tu as une bete!"

"Ve~ How are you feeling, Yao?" Feliciano asked, ignoring the others.

"I'm… okay." Yao said quietly.

"Annniiiiikkkiiii!" Yong Soo leaped into the room and Kiku caught him moments before pouncing Yao to death.

"Please be mature. You don't want to hurt him anymore." Kiku stated emotionlessly.

"Aw! You're no fun!" Yong Soo pouted. "I just want to grope him!"

"You don't grope someone with a broken rib!" Francis shouted.

"You git, you're not supposed to grope anyone at all!" Arthur remarked.

"Wait… what do you mean, broken rib-aru?" Yao finally asked.

"Oh… do you even know what happened to you?" Ludwig questioned. Yao shook his head.

"It was like, brutal, dude!" Alfred said rather cheerfully. "You were bleeding out the head like crazy! It's a miracle you're not retarded now!" Arthur smacked Alfred swiftly in anger.

"Don't say that, idiot!" Arthur yelled.

"Would it kill you to read the mood?" Francis asked sarcastically.

"Where can I find that book?"

"Typical American…" Arthur and Francis said in unison, face palming.

"Anyway, the doctor said it was a miracle you got out okay. And if it weren't for Ivan… you probably wouldn't be here… It was all his douche bag father's fault anyway…"

"Wait, you guys know-aru?" Yao interrupted. For a brief moment, everyone went silent. All of their expressions became more serious than usual, and it was enough to make Yao regret he had asked.

"Yeah… Ivan told us a few days ago." Matthew finally said.

"Hey, you guys…" Ivan muttered, his voice dark again. "Would you mind letting the doctors know he's awake?" The others, except Feliciano and Alfred, who couldn't sense the mood, nodded immediately and walked out. Eventually the two idiots followed along, leaving Yao and Ivan alone again.

"I thought… you didn't want them to know." Yao said.

"Not at first. But they were going to find out eventually, da."

"What happened… to your father-aru?"

"…He's not with us anymore."

"You killed him-aru?"

"No… it was Natalia and Alfred." Ivan moved his chair closer to the bed and sat down. "I let my little sister take care of everything for me… I'm a horrible brother. I was holding the gun in my hand and I could've…"

"Ivan…" Yao placed his hands on Ivan's cheeks and smiled. "You've been through so much… you need to stop blaming yourself, at least this one time-aru." Ivan didn't reply, so Yao went on. "Think about it this way: you're free now… you shouldn't have to worry about the horrible things that your father has done to you-aru. It's over now. And once people learn of what a bad person he was, they won't be surprised. He…" Yao's voiced darkened, "he deserved to die-aru."

"So… I'm not the only person who thought that, da?" Ivan sighed. "I guess I'm not too horrible."

"Of course you're not! I lo-" Yao stopped mid-sentence and blushed. "I mean… you're sweet. And kinder than people give you credit for-aru."

"Yeah. Thanks, Yao-Yao." Ivan said, a sad smile crossing his face. He got up and pulled the sheets over Yao's chest. "You should get some rest. I'll see you later, da." He quietly shut the door behind him, leaving Yao to listen to the slow rhythm of the heart monitor. He shut his eyes and pulled the covers above his head, but he couldn't sleep.

_Ivan loves me? _He stared at the ceiling aimlessly, trying to get his thoughts together. _It must be a friend way… _He slapped his forehead. _Stop lying to yourself, dammit! He kissed you! _

"Aiyaa…" Yao could feel his face flush. "What should I do…?"

* * *

Yao had to stay in the hospital a little longer to recover, and he still had to use a wheelchair because his injuries mad it hard to move. At school he kept getting sympathetic glances and comments everywhere he went, even though he was fine. There were still times when Ivan didn't show up to class, but Yao now knew it was to arrange everything after his father's death; not to go off and do anymore mob work. According to Alfred, he and Natalia were let off easily. Because they were both minors, they weren't tired as an adults, and the officials were lenient on them. The court ruled it as "self-defense", and the two were sentenced to only five months probation and a hundred hours of community service. It's been weeks since the event, and still neither of them know for sure who actually killed Mr. Braginski. Alfred claims it was him because he was the "hero", and Natalia says she used the power of her love for Ivan to take care of it. Either way, no one really misses him.

After weeks of disputes within his family, it was decided that the Natalia, Ivan and Katyusha would stay in the house they lived in. Katyusha was now eighteen, and she stated that she would fight to the death to protect her little siblings. Her undeniable generosity eventually won everyone else over, and she was a great mother figure to both Natalia and Ivan. The two younger siblings starting going to school regularly, and their cold exteriors began to melt away. Ivan started to get along and talk with more people; and even became close friends with Alfred, Arthur, Feliciano and the others. Natalia stopped using violence to solve all of her problems and is niw close friends with Toris, Feliks and Lili Zwingli.

Yao talked with Ivan like he usually did, but he couldn't help but feel awkward around the Russian. As much as he tried, he just couldn't get his feelings in order. Finally, when the school year was nearing its end, Yao quickly scribbled a note to Ivan and left it in his locker.

_Ivan, meet me behind the cafeteria after school. -Yao. _

After the school day ended, Yao headed behind the cafeteria. Even though summer was coming up, it was still cold back there. He sat down against the brick wall silently and watched the clouds overhead pass by.

"Aiyaa… what am I supposed to say-aru?" Yao questioned. "I shouldn't have done this…" A small gust of wind passed by, blowing a leaf onto Yao's face. "Aiyaa! Dammit, go away!" The moment the leaf was gone, he saw Ivan towering over him with a smile. "Ah! Oh, Ivan, it's you.. Don't scare me like that-aru!"

"Sorry, da!" Ivan said. "I thought you noticed me." He sat down beside Yao and smiled childishly. "What are you doing, Yao-Yao?"

"Just watching the clouds-aru." Yao took a sideways glance at Ivan and frowned. "What happened to your mother's scarf?"

"Oh, that? It kind of got dirty. I don't think I should wear it in public."

"Why?"

"I got blood on it. It looks pretty weird…"

"W-who… what happened?"

"When father hurt you," Ivan began with a frown, "I freaked out and tried to stop the bleeding with my scarf. I hope it helped at least a little."

"Ivan… you didn't have to do that. I mean, that's your mother's scarf! Isn't it important-aru?"

"It is." Ivan nodded. He turned and stared at Yao with those piercing violet eyes. "But… you're even more important to me." Yao blushed and looked away.

"Uh, thanks."

"Yao-Yao, why did you ask me out here?" Ivan asked after a brief pause.

"No reason! I just wanted to hang out-aru! That's all!"

"Well, if that's the case…" Ivan stood up. "I'm sorry, but Katyusha expects me home soon and-"

"Dammit, Ivan!" Yao pulled him back down by his coat, using as much strength as he could. Ivan fell to the ground, and before he could say a thing, Yao kissed him roughly.

"I love you-aru!" Yao stood up and ran away as fast as he could while Ivan was still in a shock.

* * *

"Aniki!" Yong Soo glomped Yao, waking him up. "Get up, get up!"

"Aiyaa…" Yao grumbled unenthusiastically, pulling the covers over his head. "Go away…"

"Sorry, nii-san." Kiku said, pulling them off again. "You have to get up. We're going back home today."

"I know… and I don't want to get up-aru…" Yao moaned. School had ended the day before, and today he and his brothers would be going home for the summer. Yao had felt horrible ever since he had run out and Ivan, and he hadn't seen him since then. _I've really messed up… _

Eventually Yao packed all of his things away and gave the bags to Yong Soo, who claimed he was strong enough to carry everything. He obviously failed, so Kiku helped him carry the bags to the taxi outside. Yao sat alone in the now empty dorm, staring blankly out the window.

"This year could have been better-aru." He said to himself. "At least next year I won't have to dress up like a girl. Or end up in the hospital…" He sighed. "I really messed it up-aru…" Behind him, there was a knock on the door. "You can come in, you guys. It's not like I care-aru."

"Hello, Yao-Yao!" Ivan said cheerfully.

"Aiyaa! It's you! Uh… hi."

"Are you guys leaving today?" Ivan asked, observing the empty room.

"Yeah. We're staying with our parents for the summer-aru." Yao replied, looking away from Ivan.

"Okay. I'll be in the same place, da." Ivan said. "But Yao…" Ivan placed his hand on Yao's shoulder. "Would you like to stay with me for the summer?"

"Huh? What? Why-aru?" Yao said, taking a step back from him.

"It'd be hard to date you from so far away, da." Ivan grabbed Yao's waist and kissed him gently. Yao returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck. "I love you, Yao-Yao."

"W-well… I'd like to come with you, but-"

"Hey! Get a room, you two!" Yong Soo shouted from the doorway.

"We're in a room-aru!" Yao retorted in anger and embarrassment.

"Nii-san…" Kiku said quietly, "If you want to stay with him, you can."

"What? But what about our parents-aru?"

"It's alright," Kiku replied with a smile. "You were always the least favorite child."

"That wasn't very nice!" Yao shouted.

"I'm kidding. We can just tell them you're staying with a friend. You've never had luck making friends, so they'll probably be okay with it." Kiku dropped Yao's bag in front of him. "You mean it? You would be okay if I stayed with Ivan-aru?"

"Of course." Kiku nodded. "We have a full house at home, anyways."

"It's fine, but if you lay a finger on my aniki's boobies, I'll kill you!" Yong Soo warned. "Now we have a ride to catch. See ya later, aniki!"

"Sayonara, nii-san." Kiku said with a smile. "And if you two have sex… send me pictures." Without another word, he shut the door behind him, leaving Yao with a radiating blush on his face.

"I'm sorry about them! They're always like that and…"

"It's fine, Yao." Ivan said with a smile. "Now let's go! I don't want to miss the train!" Ivan lifted Yao bridal-style and proceeded to carry him out of the building like that.

"Hey! Put me down-aru!" Yao protested.

"It's okay, you're light as a feather, da~" Yao gave up, knowing it wasn't worth it to argue with him. He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against Ivan's chest. Beneath it, he could heart the faint sound of his heart beating. He glanced up at Ivan one more time, and saw him beaming as he walked forward. _Next year is definitely going to be better. _He smiled and gently nuzzled Ivan's chest as they walked towards the train, and towards their future together.

* * *

_Final A/N: Sooo, this is the last chapter! Finally- I mean, dang! Anywho, cheesy ending is cheesy. I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope the ending wasn't too rushed. Like I said before, this is my first fanfiction, so cut me a little slack, okay? As usual, thank you for all of the faves and reviews! May you all live happily ever after, yada yada, it's three a.m. and I don't feel like thinking right now. I have two more fanfics in mind, that will (hopefully) be up soon. One's a Franada and another one is a high school GerIta, because I'm not creative enough to come up with anything outside of highschool. Oh well. Happy summer, all! _


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